Drunken Binges, Funerals and Formals
by mellowenglishgal
Summary: Giulia loves it when her 'uncle' Damon comes home to Mystic Falls: When his brother Stefan starts dating her best friend, she has to lie to protect her family; and when her father is killed, things start spiraling out of control. Vampires, lycanthrophic exes, dating drama, drunken binges, funerals and formals. If someone looked out for the 'collateral damage'.
1. Dear Diary

**A.N.**: Can I just say that I'm _sick_ of the entire cast of TVD falling over themselves over Elena? Elena/Katerina/Tatia? Every delicious vampire in the VD universe is hung up _over the same woman_! It's incredibly boring to have everyone fawning over Elena. Introduce someone else to catch their eye, please?! Someone worthy!

That said; I had a few ideas for a story, one of them giving the Salvatore brothers an elder-sister who was also turned, but after she had five children, and by Damon. Anyway, that idea morphed into this one; giving Damon and Stefan a female descendent…and now I've got an even better idea for her family-history. Anyway, I really wanted someone for Elijah. Someone who is best-friends with Elena but grows more and more dissatisfied by the repercussions of Damon and Stefan's actions to protect Elena.

I just wanted a girl who would be more beautiful than Elena, but gets none of the attention, sees what a danger Stefan and Damon's love for Elena is, and always tries to take the moral high-ground, and is the _kind_ person. There seriously lacks a character whose personality is inherently _kind_. Despite what Elijah says about Elena, she is duplicitous.

I also wanted to have a character who deserved the stop-and-stare-in-awe reactions Elena always gets for putting on a dress. I want my character to sneak up and effectively smack people in the face when she gets dressed up, because she's so unassuming otherwise.

* * *

**Drunken Binges, Funerals and Formals**

_01_

_Dear Diary_

* * *

_August 28, 12:02 a.m._

_Mystic Falls_

_Specifically; my bedroom. On the window-seat. I'm not yet tempted to jump, though it's a matter of time before bodies start piling up around here._

_Favourite song of the moment; My Body, Young the Giant._

_Measure of inebriation: slightly toasted._

_Level of TL hatred: …mild._

_*I'm worried Uncle Stefan might eat the cat._

_Let me lay out the scene:_

_In her bedchamber, the enigmatic Giuliette "Giulia" Salvatore pulls her pyjamas on after a party in the woods with a bonfire, kegs, and the opportunity to get wasted and forget that her boyfriend, the world's biggest douche, Tyler Lockwood, is hooking up with Vicky Donovan. As he has all summer, behind her back. _

_Ex-boyfriend._

_He could have at least been subtle._

_But Vicky? If Tyler passed me over for Vicky Donovan, what does that say about how he saw me? A piece of trash, probably. Mean less to him than one of the beer-cans he crumpled on the ground in the woods._

_Perhaps a little part of me wanted to see Vicky suffer for being a world-class whore. But I know it's not her fault Tyler's a dick and she's under the delusion he'll ever see her as more than an easy lay. While it's completely her fault I was paranoid and visited the clinic after discovering Tyler had been screwing her, it isn't her fault a vampire attacked her._

_But after reading the journals in his closet, I knew it wasn't a good idea for Uncle Stefan to stay in Mystic Falls._

_It doesn't matter if he claims he's been on bunny-blood, Vicky was attacked in the woods, almost drained. I'm the only one at that party who really knows what that means, what really happened. Uncle Stefan says it wasn't him; but after reading what he's capable of, I have my doubts._

_But at the party, when Vicky was attacked, he grabbed me and brought me home, said not to leave the house till sunrise. Most vampires don't have those sunlight-rings he and Uncle Damon have._

_I guess he's worried there might be another vampire in Mystic Falls. And if they pick up that he's in town too, they might try to contact him and cause trouble; perhaps he didn't attack Vicky, perhaps he's trying to protect me by keeping me in the house._

_I'm gonna hear it from Bonnie; she totally thinks Stefan has that broody, protective older-brother vibe going on around me. She reckons Stefan should beat the crap out of Tyler; thing is, if Stefan did pick a fight, Tyler really would be reduced to nothing but a bloody pulp. But I guess he would do whatever is necessary to protect me if he thought another vampire was in Mystic Falls preying on the sweet young things._

_Either way, Dad and I both thought Uncle Stefan staying in Mystic Falls was a bad idea. I'm supposed to go on pretending that he's my cousin; nobody need ever know what he is, he just wants to get to know Elena._

_Therein lies the eternal question; why does Elena look like that antique photograph of 'Katherine', taken in 1864, when Uncle Stefan started writing his journals? When he was seventeen years old. When he died._

_And why does Stefan want to know Elena? What could he possibly gain from posing as a high-school student?_

_Caroline, of course, wants to make my wariness over Stefan something ugly; that I'm jealous that he's paying Elena more attention than he is me. But that's Caroline; petty and a little bitter, controlling with incessant self-esteem issues. She tries so hard, but sometimes it's too much; she just needs to learn to relax. And not stick her foot in her mouth, like saying I have a crush on Uncle Stefan._

_Yeah. She said that. Of course, she asked if we were "kissing cousins", as I'd introduced Stefan as my cousin at school._

_Stefan's worried about his compulsion; on his diet of animal-blood, he doesn't have the strength that another vampire would have in those mind-control tricks, but he got into the school system, and he's promised to help me with all my History assignments._

_I've promised if he does anything to hurt Elena or any of my friends, I will steal his sun-ring while he sleeps._

_How long until Uncle Damon returns to Mystic Falls?_

_He was here in May; he snuck up on me at the bonfire, said he'd seen Elena and asked what I knew about her. That was just before the crash; I saw Stefan about two hours later, dripping wet._

_He said he'd heard the crash, jumped in to save Elena and her parents. But Mr Gilbert wouldn't let Uncle Stefan help him; he made Uncle Stefan save Elena. That sounds just like Mr Gilbert. I miss him and Miranda perhaps as much as Elena and Jeremy do. Miranda was the only mother-figure I ever knew._

_Uncle Stefan made me promise made me swear never to tell Elena his secret. He knows I wear vervain to prevent compulsion; but if he wants me to trust him around my friends, he has to trust me that I won't betray his secret. I warned him that Elena is smart. And tenacious; she can be stubborn as a bulldog when she wants answers about something._

_I'll write more tomorrow; I should go and see how Matt's doing, whether he needs help with anything. It's just him and Vicky at home, and most of the time he's dragging Vicky out of trouble. She takes him for granted. But I wish I had a brother like him._

_Or like Damon. That's the best benefit of having a living-dead relative; he's forever in his early-20s. He never dies. And when he's home, he compels the bartenders at the Grill to serve me, takes me shopping, chats and just spends time with me. Uncle Stefan's always too afraid of hurting me in my delicate human state to do anything fun. Uncle Damon is volatile, but the bigger danger is Stefan: reading his journals, it seems he goes on binges, 'ripping' his victims, if he's tempted into drinking human blood. At least we always know Uncle Damon is mercurial; the danger is ignoring signs that Uncle Stefan might be on the strong stuff._

_I miss Uncle Damon when he's away; my pal. He made me swear not to tell that he'd be back in Mystic Falls this week. He told me he wanted to see the comet._

_He saw it the first time it passed through Mystic Falls._

_I hate how infrequent his visits are. Dad thinks he's a bad influence—the worst—but I don't think so. For a man who has been dead for 145 years, he knows how to live in a way I never contemplate when he's not around. But I should; it's an insult to those who can't not to live my life to the fullest extent of my abilities._

_With Uncle Stefan in town, there is sure to be trouble. So I don't want to come to the end of my life regretting things I never took the opportunity to experience._

_Anyway… To Neverland, because I am exhausted, and my buzz is gone_.

_Although, I have to admit, the memory of Stefan showing up Tanner about the Battle of Willow Creek and the Fell church-fire in History class still makes me grin. I will treasure it forever!_

_Goodnight!_

_Giulia_

* * *

**A.N.**: So she's probably writing this journal-entry while Damon and Stefan are fighting it out on the driveway, she just didn't hear them (probably had her iPod on). I'm starting this from the beginning, so I can build in a few plot twists, and verbal spankings for Elena, because she seriously needs them sometimes.


	2. Giulia

**A.N.**: I decided to change how the Salvatore name was continued; a very young marriage that ended in tragedy for Damon's wife, but continued the Salvatore bloodline.

Also, I was inspired a little by the novel _Lothaire_ by Kresley Cole (she's a _genius_!) about a 3000-year-old sadistic vampire, and it got me thinking about Klaus. I don't like Klaus; I really wish the writers hadn't extended the part just because the actor was good.

I want Elijah back! The suits, the haircut, the charm, his ability to decapitate someone with a well-placed slap! Shirt-sleeves pushed up to rip out vampires' hearts without getting any blood on his shirt? Now _that_ is exquisitely terrifying.

Klaus just has a lot of temper-tantrums; he seems like a sociopathic _brat_ to me. As elder-brother, shouldn't Elijah have put him in his place?

I'm also really pissed that even Klaus and Elijah seemed to have been hung up on an incarnation of Elena in the past. I just don't get it. Nina Dobrev is pretty, yes, but I can think of a dozen actresses more 'exquisite' than her (that's Elijah's description of Tatia, the Petrova sacrifice).

* * *

**Drunken Binges, Funerals and Formals**

_02_

* * *

One hundred and forty-five years as a vampire, and in that time, there was only one descendent in his family line that Damon could say with utmost sincerity that he loved and held above everything in the world. And the only person alive, dead or enjoying their afterlife, whom he allowed to see the side of him that he had all but lost on his transition to vampire.

The first female born to the Salvatore line in generations, she was also an only-child, and had grown up with only her father and two vampire 'uncles' as role-models. The good her father inspired in her was somewhat railroaded whenever 'Uncle Damon' crept into town, especially since she hit puberty and Damon had started teaching her how to _live_. His deepest, darkest secret, one he'd only ever told her, when she had been far too young to even remember, let alone be compelled to forget, was that he missed being _human_. And he'd be damned if he let her miss out on every opportunity humanity could offer her.

In recent years, reading too many psychology magazines, the better to understand her dick boyfriend's aggression and ego, she had posed the question whether Damon loved her over every other descendent because there was a measure of narcissism in him.

Every time he saw Giulia she got more and more striking. But she was a sixteen-year-old girl who loved her best-friends and let her boyfriend treat her…well, worse than he would his pet dog. She was the tall, shy girl in her group of friends, who included the elusive Elena Gilbert he had coerced Giulia with bourbon to tell him all about; Giulia was the girl too afraid of losing her best-friend to break up with her boyfriend.

An enigmatic, seductive mentor had once told him to go for the girls who buttoned themselves up: his youngest descendent was and wasn't one of those girls. She was shy, let herself get treated like a doormat, but she was ladylike and tomboyish by equal measure, and in the sixteen years of watching over her like some vampiric fairy-godfather, he had seen such unfailing, uncompromising kindness develop in her personality. She kept herself private, something she had learned from her slightly reclusive father; but there was also another part of her that took after Damon exactly. The part of her that loved to party, to 'run away' with him to theme-parks and concerts, go drinking at the Grill and learn the tricks of the vampire lifestyle despite being human; she had always wanted to understand him, been too fascinated with Damon's lifestyle to be repulsed or terrified by it, and he had coaxed and nurtured her to not be afraid of the part of herself that liked to let loose.

She was most like her father, just, quiet, but as someone who had known her mother, which Giulia never had, Damon knew there was a huge part of her that was her mother, too, the part of her that lived for ballroom-dancing, the part of her that had developed a sophisticated, calm personality that lapsed sometimes into flashes of a fierce, fun-loving woman who would've made a match for Damon all these years if she had been a vampire. His little human 'niece' kept him honest; she let him stop being nefarious, if only for sometimes just an afternoon, so he could pretend that he was still the carefree, fun-loving human he had once been. Especially since the years let her grow more and more beautiful, more and more like Damon, and people who saw them out together assumed he was her elder-brother. He could pretend to be human with her, in a way he never had before.

For someone who was unfailingly kind to others, even to her own detriment, it was ironic that she favoured Damon over Stefan, but their bond was uncanny; he could remember telling her stories about Stefan in his Ripper phase to terrify her when he 'babysat', watched her pale eyes grow wide as she cuddled into his side for protection, clutching her little purple-haired doll, this tiny, warm little black-haired dumpling buried under duvets in a huge bed, her bedroom tucked deep in the bowels of a shadowy mansion full of memories and monsters.

The same little darling who, as a five-year-old, would sneak into _his_ bed for a cuddle whenever Uncle Stefan the bunny-killer came to visit, making him promise to protect her from the Ripper; the little girl who would bring him cups of coffee to "make him warm"; the little girl who knew by the age of six which was his favourite scotch, and would always pour him a glass after dinner, when he would sit in the library in front of the fire, her sitting in his lap with her doll and blanket, and he would read to her.

It gave Damon a lot of enjoyment that his little 'niece' Giuliette—'Giulia' since she was a very little girl—was afraid of _Stefan_, not him. Of course, Stefan took her preference of Damon as some sort of manipulation on Damon's part, that he had trained Giulia to believe that he was good and honest. To her, he was. But she was the only one. And she was the only one, though she didn't know it, who didn't have to worry about being collateral damage in the middle of the century-long war between brothers. He wouldn't let anything happen to her. Her _life_ was too precious.

The benefit of having her complete loyalty; when he was sweet to her, she kept his secret so he could continue to be the 'evil' brother. He had taught her that it was a game, that he was the evil big-brother who tormented the Ripper who couldn't stop throwing himself over the edge, because he had forced Damon to turn a hundred and forty-five years ago. In Giulia, he enjoyed his only true _friend_.

He had been listening for her, heard her shower, her hair-dryer, the music she played while she got ready for school; when he heard her footsteps, he smirked and opened the stuffed book bound in recycled turquoise leather that he had taken from Giulia's leather-topped Louis desk while she slept. He did things like that, knowing he'd get her riled, and she'd stand up for herself.

She could stand up to a 170-year-old vampire with supernatural strength, speed and little appreciation for human life or collateral damage, but she wouldn't stick up for herself when her sixteen-year-old boyfriend was being a dick to her.

And she wouldn't let Damon kill the bastard either.

Opening up the diary to the last entry—he had gone through magazine cuttings, newspaper articles, postcards, paintings, mini scrapbook pages and sketches last night, reading about how things were with her ex-boyfriend—he smirked, sipped his coffee, and started to read his favourite passage from it, "_I miss Uncle Damon when he's away; my pal. He made me swear not to tell that he'd be back in Mystic Falls this week. He told me he wanted to see the comet… He saw it the first time it passed through Mystic Falls… I hate how infrequent his visits are. Dad thinks he's a bad influence_…"

A soft gasp issued in the hall, then a soft growl, and the footsteps hurried; his smirk turned into a lazy grin as his 'niece' strode into the kitchen.

Perhaps there _was_ a measure of narcissism in Damon's love for Giulia. Every time he saw her, she grew to look more and more like him. Giulia could have been Damon's sister, though she was several years younger than he had been when Katherine had turned him. By the time Giulia reached her mid-twenties, they would look like twins.

Strikingly beautiful, her colouring was a vivid contrast; thick black hair with natural wave to it shone in the spotlights high in the kitchen ceiling, her complexion pale as moonlight, and flawless; she had inherited Damon's glowing silvery-grey eyes, eyebrows neatly shaped and groomed, her face deceptively clean of makeup but every feature subtly defined. She was tall, as tall as Damon, and, not heavy, she wasn't exactly a frail little flower; there was strength in the incredibly long legs she revealed in her dark-teal lace dress, an unstructured blazer of black cotton thrown over the top with the sleeves pushed up to her elbows, and Damon had started teasing her since her training-bra days that she had inherited the gorgeous breasts of Florentine ancestresses who had been famous beauties. She was tall, slim but not skinny, strong due to her numerous athletic interests, and had the chest to balance her long, long legs.

A girl, but a girl raised by her laidback and almost reclusive father, and sometimes two vampire fairy-godfathers, Giulia had grown up wearing baseball henleys and jeans, the better to climb trees in and run about playing baseball. That had changed when she was thirteen, when a woman named Miranda had taken Giulia under her wing, and Damon had watched Giulia evolve more and more into a young woman with every visit he sprang on her.

Damon knew he was drop-dead gorgeous (pun intended) and he used his attractiveness to his advantage; but he watched with silent hilarity as Giulia went on without the slightest clue how _staggering_ she was. From a girl who loved to roughhouse with her favourite 'uncle', pleased that she could make him laugh showing him her ability to fight, and chasing Stefan around the yard with an axe at three years old for eating her bunnies, she was now an incredibly beautiful girl who had absolutely no idea how stunning she was, and little patience for shopping. She teased Damon that he was more high-maintenance than her; and that was probably true, but he knew she loved the odd manicure, craved opportunities to wear her mother's jewellery, and indulged her best-friends' love for makeovers, doing their hair, facials, etc. at sleepovers.

Having observed Giulia and her girlfriends for several months, since seeing the mysterious Elena waiting for her parents at the bonfire, Damon knew Giulia embodied the _lazy_ attitude toward personal style; everything about Giulia was effortless, she didn't have to try, and if she had been more aware of her physical appeal, she might have been a different girl and thus more high-maintenance, but she wasn't. She was lazy at best, and that reflected in her choice of outfits; simple dresses, textured tops with a faithful few pairs of jeans, delicate jewellery she didn't have to bother to change up. She took an irreverent, almost impatient attitude towards fashion, clothes, the same as when she was a very little girl.

Damon had heard boys' comments about fast, tomboyish but stunning Giulia, and had listened to even her best girlfriend's jealous remarks about how she could look "amazing in anything", and found it highly amusing to make Giulia blush when he told her what her friends had said while he had spied on them.

All she ever got from him telling her these things was that he was a voyeur. _Guilty_, Damon acknowledged, but it was fun to see Giulia from other people's perspective—from the perspective of _humans_ in her life, who could either lift her up or crush her, and, for everything, her tomboyish childhood, her irreverent approach to fashion, her quiet endurance through living without a mother, her strength to live with vampires without being afraid, she was a sensitive girl. She reminded Damon a lot of himself before he had turned, though she was absolutely her own person.

And in her group of four girlfriends, all with their own distinct personalities, she was the incredibly mellow, strong one who caught people out on being unkind, and had a very long fuse that ended in an incredible display of temper if something got her riled enough. He guessed she had to have unshakable nerves to live with lethal vampires for relatives, but even he would be driven to homicide if he had to go through the cattiness of high-school as a teenaged girl. Even when her friends and enemies did and said their worst, Giulia's mellowness kept her from doing damage Damon knew she could do.

Chasing Stefan with an axe when she was three was an example of this. And, yes, Damon had coaxed her to try and get even for Daffodil and Rumball's deaths (these were the two cute baby-bunnies Giulia had absolutely adored when she was three, and which Stefan had brunched on) but the axe hadn't been his idea.

Giulia was level-headed and _very_ kind, an uncanny choice of friend for Damon, but for the first time since he himself had been human, Giulia had helped him to flip that humanity switch so that he cared again. At least about her. She had written that he was her pal; Giulia was his one solace.

A hundred and forty-five years of waiting, only in the last two decades had he started to care. Because Salvatore history had repeated itself; a child had been left without its mother. And Giulia loved him. The most uncaring, hedonistic vampire; she _loved_ _him_. It was a pure, unselfish love that had nothing to do with gain or manipulation, and Damon honoured that devotion by reciprocating her respect.

And it was nice to have one person in the entire world who didn't think he was an abomination. She kept his secret, that he could be incredibly sweet when he thought people deserved his affection, and he enjoyed being the nefarious brother without anyone knowing he doted on her. Stefan had always believed he manipulated Giulia; but Damon knew Giulia had been wearing vervain since she was a little girl.

He had given it to her.

Looking elated to see him but flustered over the sight of her diary in his hand, Giulia grinned warmly as she strode to him; opening his arms languidly he hugged her, smiling to himself as he cradled her head, gave her a little squeeze, and caught the smell of warm, rich blood mixed with the clean, pretty scent of her hair.

"Hello, beautiful."

"Hi," Giulia beamed as he released her from their hug, sliding an arm languidly around her shoulders as she hooked an arm around his waist. "How long have you been home?"

"Got back last night," Damon smiled. "You didn't hear me and Stef playing Charades out on the driveway?"

"I must've passed out," Giulia said.

"Probably; I could smell the spilt beer on you when I came to check on you," Damon smirked, and Giulia rolled her eyes subtly. "Long night?"

"Cut short; I assume that was you," Giulia said softly, giving him a disapproving look.

"She was screwing your boyfriend, I figured the least she deserved was sixty-percent blood-loss," Damon said idly, sipping his coffee. Giulia gave him another look, popping two Eggo waffles into the toaster, and Damon chuckled as she reached for her diary, arching an eyebrow at him reprovingly as she tucked the turquoise-leather book into her bag.

"I didn't tell you about Tyler so you could go around town nibbling on anybody who wronged me," she said disapprovingly.

Damon chuckled, repeating, "_Nibbling_… Why not?"

"Because it's immoral," Giulia said, glancing up at Damon, who smirked. "You don't need to feast on my friends when there are blood-banks. I thought you didn't like drug-users, anyway."

"I'll take what I can get," Damon said, shrugging nonchalantly. "Especially if it'll stir up terror among drunken high-school students."

"Party-pooper."

"Ouch!" he raised a hand to his heart, pouting. "So, I thought I made it clear you weren't to tell anybody I was coming back to town."

"I didn't tell anybody."

"You wrote it in your _diary_."

"Yeah, but the difference between you and everybody else I know is that they actually respect _boundaries_."

"Fair point. I just wanted to read all the nasty-not-nice things you wrote about _Uncle Stefan_ now that he's back, anyway." Giulia sighed, her lips twitching thoughtfully in a habit way she had, and Damon watched her. "What's the matter?" he asked cajolingly, smiling. "Don't like Uncle Stefan the bunny-butcher being home?"

Giulia didn't answer for a moment, squeezing syrup onto the waffles.

"I-I just don't want him to rip anyone," she murmured, glancing up at Damon with eyes uncannily like his own, though hers were warm, honest. Kind of demure, intelligent. Definitely not vindictive, manipulative and cruel, as many people saw Damon.

"Uh-huh… So I guess I'm not the only one who reads other people's diaries," Damon smirked, watching Giulia's expression; she was _genuinely_ worried that Stefan would relapse onto human blood and start leaving a trail of body-parts across Mystic Falls.

"Well, I had to pick up the habit from someone," Giulia said, giving Damon a look that made him chuckle; she passed him the plate of syrupy waffles and popped two more into the toaster; smiling to himself that she had made up a plate for him before helping herself, Damon sat at the island with a knife and fork.

"And as for _Uncle_ _Stefan_," Damon smirked, "I doubt you have anything to worry about. He wants to live his life as a high-school student." Giulia caught his eye, and they both smirked, then laughed; she sat down beside him at the island, and Damon grinned to himself. The running joke was that, of course, Stefan was technically dead and had been for a hundred and forty-five years. "Okay, how about this, we make a deal. The first sign that Stefan's fallen off the wagon, we tie him up and throw him in the cellar." Giulia gave him a look. "No?"

"He's your brother," Giulia said quietly, her expression gentle. "You know you couldn't keep him locked up very long." Damon sighed. He had made it his afterlife's work to make Stefan's existence a misery; he did that enough to himself now, on his bunny-diet, that it had taken half the fun out of it for Damon, and despite everything, he had promised an eternity of misery; not death.

No matter how they felt about each other, he couldn't kill Stefan, even if other people paid for that inability with their lives. Joseph, for one. Before Giulia had been born, he would come back to Mystic Falls for a visit, check the lawn had been mowed, wreak havoc, and leave after a few bodies had been buried. He had only ever killed one human in his own family; Joseph, decades ago. That was old history and Zach knew well enough from the fate of his grandfather not to piss Damon off; he hadn't cared for a long time, and the 50s had been the heart of his most hedonistic era, and after it he had started to calm down, to start planning. The grief and guilt of his first few decades had morphed into revelry and delight in his abilities, the loneliness and heartsickness staved off by blood and alcohol.

The 80s had been a blur, one he had heartily enjoyed; the 90s had brought the birth of little Giuliette, and for the first time in a hundred and forty-five years, Damon had enjoyed the sheer pleasure of feeling _human_ again. He had lived to spend time with Giuliette—Giulia, as she later became known due to her earthy, natural personality, not at all girly. Thanks to an early understanding of the connotations of the name 'Juliet', Damon teaching her to read by an antique Shakespeare compendium, Giulia had rejected the utterly feminine name Giuliette, though to Damon she was and always would be his "little dumpling", something that made her blush with embarrassment to this day.

Giulia had brought back some of his humanity; the only other aspect he had retained of it was his inability to murder his own brother.

"So. Tell me. How's school?" Damon asked. He believed America had become less-intelligent since he had been educated; but he liked to keep up with Giulia's life. Because she was alive; she _grew_. Her personality evolved every time he saw her, her intelligence grew, but he still waited for the day when she would come out of her shell, as it were.

"Well, we've only been back a few days," Giulia said softly, with a gentle sigh as she squeezed syrup onto her waffles.

"Man, it must be tough. Seeing _him_ every day, watching them together," Damon said, eating his breakfast, "wondering whether he even remembered you while she was riding him—"

Giulia shot him a look, and he grimaced as he fell silent; such was the power of her glower that he shut up. She was really getting good at the blister-the-paint-from-a-barn-door glare.

"I'm serious, though. What's up? I feel like we haven't talked in a while," he continued, popping a cutting of waffle into his mouth. Giulia glanced at Damon, her eyes sad.

"Nothing's up," she said softly.

"Yeah, I guess your social calendar took a dive after you dumped the syphilitic philanderer," Damon nodded. Giulia shrugged slightly.

"Things should pick up soon. The beginning of the semester is always dull," she said, sighing softly. "This year marks the hundred and fiftieth anniversary of Mystic Falls' founding, so we've got a month's worth of celebrations to look forward to. But you know that…already…"

"I do," Damon smirked, licking syrup off his thumb. "I cannot tell you how _excited_ I am that it's finally here."

"Are you going to watch the comet with me?" Giulia asked, gazing earnestly at him. Damon grinned lazily.

"Now why would you want to hang out with your cantankerous old Uncle Damon instead of your jaunty cheerleader friends?" he smirked, and Giulia shot him a look, sighing. "Yeah, that's a fair point. What with you being on the make-Mystic Falls-sexy-again committee, I'm sure you've got things planned for the evening."

"There's going to be a candlelit ceremony in the town square," Giulia said, smiling subtly.

"Oh yeah? How many community-service hours do you get credit for?" Damon asked idly.

"A few," Giulia shrugged delicately.

"You still teaching the old folks how to salsa?" Damon asked, with another smirk; his little niece was a do-gooder in the community, devoting time to volunteering at the old-folks' home giving dance lessons, reading to children in the public library, tutoring at school, and that was in the free time she had in between her own personal interests, which were many and varied and, depending how pissed off with Damon or Stefan or her dad she was, sometimes violent.

With all the work and volunteering she did in Mystic Falls, Damon had noticed Giulia rarely stuck her head up to take credit for it, even when she deserved it, and if she had had anything to do with this ceremony for the comet, she would let other people take credit for it to avoid being the centre of attention.

"The foxtrot," Giulia smiled sweetly. "Once a week."

"You must be the highlight of their week," Damon smirked, winking. "So… I wanna hear _all_ the gossip from cheer camp." He smirked and fluttered his eyelashes girlishly, and Giulia laughed, eyes twinkling. "Come on, just one little tiny panty-raid story…"

"There's nothing to say, really," Giulia said sadly, fiddling with her waffle.

"Oh, come on, we're family, bella Giulia. Catty girls in log-cabins, PJs and S'mores."

"Water-bottles concealing vodka. Sneaking over to the boys' cabins while they're at football camp."

"Exactly. Tell me _all_ the slutty details."

"Well, camp was before Tyler…" Giulia sighed, eyeing her waffles miserably.

Damon sighed, gazing at Giulia. "Want me to kill him?"

"No," Giulia mumbled, her shoulders falling.

"Maybe I could rough him up a little bit?" Damon coaxed, earning him a smile, which was what he'd wanted.

"Or we can talk about revenge over bourbon at the Grill?" Giulia smiled shyly.

"Please limit all talk of coercing my teenaged daughter into illegal activity to when I'm not around," Zach said, giving Damon a disapproving look as he entered the kitchen, going straight for the coffee. Damon raised his eyebrows.

"Giulia, have I ever coerced you into illegal activity?"

"Nope."

"It was her idea anyway," Damon said, pouting at Giulia, who smiled. "See, Zach, I'm not a bad influence." Giulia rolled her eyes, smiling, as Zach sighed, giving him a disapproving look. "And anyway, I'll bet my dearest niece gets into enough trouble all by herself." He slung an arm around Giulia's shoulders. "Beautiful women _always_ attract trouble. And you get more and more gorgeous every time I see you."

"You mean I look more and more like _you_ every time you see me," Giulia beamed at him.

"Isn't that exactly what I said?" Damon chuckled, and Giulia smiled as he hugged her lazily.

"Two Damons. That's a scary thought," Stefan muttered, as he entered the kitchen.

"Well, good morning to you too, gorgeous. You cannot deny that our little dumpling Giuliette got the _best_ end of the Salvatore gene-pool," Damon smirked, and Giulia laughed, shaking her head as she finished off her waffles. Damon knew Giulia loved it when he was home; he always got her to be more outgoing, adventurous, brave; he liked it when she _lived_, and she hated disappointing him.

"Morning, Zach," Stefan said to Zach, who nodded, eyeing his two vampiric great-uncles, his expression becoming anxious as his gaze settled on Giulia, piling plates into the dishwasher. Zach always worried about Giulia whenever Damon and Stefan were home; nature of the beast with vampires for relatives, but Zach didn't understand; Damon would never hurt Giulia. She was the closet link he had to what little humanity he had recovered. She brought out the best in him, even if nobody but her ever saw it.

"So, you two kiddies looking forward to a fun day of learning?" Damon smirked, as Giulia checked the contents of her bag, and Stefan produced his new backpack, full of composition notebooks and a History textbook.

"I can hardly contain my excitement," Giulia said sadly.

"Such enthusiasm!" Damon quipped. "What about you, Stef?" Stefan shot him a look, and Damon smirked, sipping his coffee. "You guys need a ride to school?"

Stefan shot him a deadly look. "What? I can't take my baby cousin and my little bro to school like a good older brother?"

"Except the fact that you're not a good older-brother," Stefan said tersely. Giulia sighed, and Damon glanced at her; she was gazing from him to Stefan, and shook her head slightly as she sipped the last of her orange-juice, tucked the glass into the dishwasher, picked up her bag and grabbed her keys from one of the pockets.

"Will I see you later?" Giulia asked him, gazing earnestly at him, and Damon grinned lazily as he offered his arm; her eyes glowed with happiness as she hugged him, and Damon kissed her cheek before letting her go; she kissed her father goodbye and Stefan shot Damon a glare before he followed her out to the driveway, where Giulia's car—a classic 1960s VW Beetle—stood under cover. The last time Damon had seen Giulia, she had been pondering whether to have the paint-job redone, and the burgundy-red did look rather faded.

"Oh, hey," he heard Stefan murmur to Giulia, "do you happen to know where the copy of _Wuthering Heights_ is? The first-edition Ellis Bell?"

"I'm…reading it," Giulia said softly. "Why?"

"Oh. I just…talked about it with Elena last night, I wanted to give it to her," Stefan said.

"That's Damon's book," Giulia said softly, gazing at Stefan, and Damon smirked to himself as he leaned in the doorway, watching Stefan's features as he paused, before climbing into the passenger-seat beside Giulia. He heard Stefan mutter, "I want you to be careful around Damon, alright… Whatever he's here for, he means trouble, alright, he could hurt you…"

Damon heard Giulia's answering sigh, and she drove off. By the sound of it, her Beetle needed a tune-up.

* * *

**A.N.**: I really, _really_ need to start writing a 3000-word essay due in on tomorrow morning, but I cannot be _arsed_. Never underestimate the power of sheer panic when it comes to finishing homework.


	3. Daffodil & Tyler's Junk

**A.N.**: Thank you to everyone who has reviewed this story! I've wanted to do _Vampire_ _Diaries_ for ages, just never figured out how to write a story for it. To clear up confusion, 'Giuliette' and 'Giulia' are the Italian spellings of the names Juliet/Juliette and Julia.

And I'm delighted to report that I've figured out a way to make it categorically _impossible_ for Elijah and Elena to hook up. Because, come on, she's already got Stefan and Damon fawning all over her; personally, I believe Damon deserves a _lot_ better. The plan to keep Elejah from happening is _ingenious_, if I may say so.

* * *

**Drunken Binges, Funerals and Formals**

_03_

_Daffodil & Tyler's Junk_

* * *

"Uh… I need you to take me to the hospital," Stefan said quietly, giving her one of those _urgent_ looks he had; it was different from his solemn look, in that there was a touch of anxiousness about his eyes, and Giulia tucked her Algebra 2 textbook into her locker.

"Why?" The thought of her 161-year-old vampire great-uncle needing medical attention was highly ironic.

"I think that girl, Vicki, remembers what happened to her," Stefan said quietly, glancing around anxiously, and Giulia glanced at him. "I need you to go and visit her and give me an excuse to be in her hospital-room so I can compel her."

"You're cleaning up after Damon—and using me to do it," Giulia said quietly, frowning. "You know I hate it when you two use me like a tug-o-war doll."

"You know I wouldn't ask, Giulia," Stefan said earnestly. "If Vicki talks, there are people who remember—Zach told me he's part of the Founders' Council; if Vicki talks, you'd be surprised who'd listen. The last thing I want is to stir up chaos like in 1864."

"Alright," Giulia sighed. She frowned at Stefan. She didn't talk to him like she did Damon; it was Damon she called almost every day, him she received letters and postcards from all over the country wherever he was partying to forget and take up time before the comet returned. Stefan was the brother who followed 'temperance', in that he only drank the blood of innocent little bunnies, but Damon had told her stories backed up by Stefan's own journals, and of the two brothers, Giulia had always been more wary of Stefan.

And she didn't relish the thought of going to visit Vicki Donovan. Druggie, slut, she had been sneaking around with Giulia's boyfriend—also Giulia's _best_ friend, since they were kids and Giulia hadn't known how to act like a girl. Tomboyish in childhood, Tyler had started liking the look of her when she had started to wear skirts on the brink of puberty, and when they were thirteen they had kissed for the first time. The boy she had loved with all of her heart, even despite the way he sometimes treated her, because there were times when he was the sweetest guy in the world, the one she'd had _all_ her firsts with—first kiss, first grope (his of her, hers of him), first awkward sexual forays, and then the big one, just before her sixteenth birthday, they'd had sex. And then they hadn't stopped having sex until late this summer, when Vicki Donovan had sauntered over in her tight skinny-jeans, throwing herself at him.

Tyler had started sleeping with Vicki; Giulia, wounded, had climbed into the backseats of cars with several of the boys who had shown interest in her freshman and sophomore-year, never going all the way, just far enough to get off. This summer, the summer _everything_ had changed, she had become a selfish lover. Damon applauded her selfishness; he thought she was too young to settle on just one man for the rest of her life, thought she should play the field, explore her options, never tie herself down until she had gotten everything out of life that he thought she deserved.

She just thought she deserved better than to be cheated on by her oldest friend, her first love, with a tacky little slut.

She didn't want to make a big deal about it; she dealt with her grief privately—and it was grief. She had been severely wounded by one of the people she trusted most in the world; there was no describing that hurt.

Anyway; Elena was dealing with the loss of her parents, and trying to wean her brother from his coping-mechanisms, and everyone knew Elena Gilbert had dumped star quarterback Matt Donovan. Huge drama. They had been the It Couple, more so than mellow, athletic Giulia and bullying Tyler Lockwood ever had been.

"Alright?" Stefan repeated.

Glancing up at him, upset that she had to be the bigger person by visiting the invalid, even if the whore had been sleeping with her boyfriend, she bit her lip. "Alright. We'll go to the hospital."

Stefan gave her a measuring look, thoughtful and sincere, and he said, noticing that she avoided eye-contact, gaze downcast, "What's wrong?"

Giulia shook her head subtly, mumbling, "It doesn't really matter."

"It's got you upset," Stefan said quietly, watching her carefully. "Whatever it is obviously does matter to you."

Giulia shrugged delicately. "Just high-school drama."

"Well, I came back to Mystic Falls so I could be a high-school student, and teen drama is a huge part of that," Stefan smiled coaxingly. "I came back to spend time with you."

"You came back for Elena," Giulia corrected gently, gazing earnestly at Stefan. She wasn't under any delusions that Stefan and Damon were here for any other purpose than to stalk Elena Gilbert, identical-to-the-eyelash to their shared former lover Katherine Pierce. Giulia hadn't understood the significance of Katherine's antique photograph until a few years ago, when Elena had started to grow into a beautiful olive-skinned girl, who looked more and more like the Katherine in the photograph; when she was fourteen she had asked Damon to tell her the story of Katherine again. She figured Katherine the human must have had a child before she was turned; there was so much mystery surrounding the vampire who had seduced and turned the original Salvatore brothers, it wasn't an impossibility.

Stefan sighed, gazing at her. He gave her a look that said a lot, acquiescing the truth of what she had said. "Yes. I am here to get to know Elena. A benefit of that is I get to spend time getting to know you, too. Damon was always your best-friend as a child."

Giulia smiled. "He gave better birthday-presents." She winked, and Stefan chuckled. She took hold of her car-keys, and Stefan strode beside her out to the junior parking-lot, where her vintage Beetle with its tired paint-job stood out amongst glossy newer cars. An incredibly affluent town, it wasn't unusual for kids to show up to school on their sixteenth birthdays driving Mercedes and Porsches. And if her inner car-lover had had its way, Giulia would be driving an exquisitely beautiful Aston Martin.

But she loved the vintage vibe of the Beetle, with its old seats covered in woven blankets to save the original upholstery, more blankets folded on the backseat for her friends to throw over their legs when they piled into the Beetle, with its temperamental heating; she loved that the trunk was in the front rather than the back; and instead of a hula-girl on the dashboard, there was a gold-painted stegosaurus toy; the glove-compartment was filled with Bazooka gum, Micron artists' pens, nail-polish bottles and an 'emergency' stash of makeup that suited all of the girls' complexions, a change of underwear and bra, deodorant, a mini can of hairspray for Caroline, a bag of Cheetos and a little blue First Aid bag. Stefan entertained himself on the ride to the hospital by going through the contents of the glove-compartment, giving her props for saving the original upholstery by covering the seats with patterned blankets, and talking about whether she was still into baseball, and he got her to admit that Damon already knew her boyfriend Tyler had been sleeping with another girl behind her back—Vicki, and Stefan quirked an eyebrow and sighed.

"So I guess that's why he went after her, huh," he said, shaking his head.

"I suppose it's his demented way of showing he can still be my vampire-godfather, looking out for me," Giulia said quietly, pulling into the hospital parking-lot.

"Yeah, the way Damon shows affection is slightly warped," Stefan said drily, climbing out of the car. Giulia locked her door, and they walked into the hospital; Giulia paused at the gift-shop, purchasing a small but pretty posy of dahlias.

"I thought your compulsion won't work as well because of your Daffodil-diet," Giulia said quietly, as they followed a nurse's directions to Vicki Donovan's room. Stefan sighed, glancing at Giulia.

"Are you never gonna forgive me for that?" he asked. "You were three years old. And I cannot say 'sorry' enough."

"Sorry won't bring Rumball back," Giulia said, gazing at Stefan as they strode down the hall, which, even to her human senses, reeked of ammonia and blood. "I haven't had pets since because of you."

"I destroyed your childhood innocence," Stefan said, looking slightly grumpy. "I know you could never watch _Bambi_." Giulia nodded, and peeked her head around a door.

"This is it."

"Okay… You wanna stand watch, while I talk to her?" Stefan said, and Giulia bit her lip but nodded. She entered the room first, quietly so she didn't alert Vicki to her presence; she didn't particularly feel like talking to the girl who'd been screwing her boyfriend, but it was pressing that Vicki not remember what had actually attacked her, as much for Stefan's safety as for Damon's too.

Giulia's dad had told her about the Founders' Council; when the time came, she could choose to join, to balance out the desire to keep the town safe with the family obligation to keep the town in the dark about the original Salvatore brothers. She knew knowledge of vampires was extensive amongst the Council, and every Founders event was an excuse for the Council to meet. Her family had been the suppliers of vervain to the Council for over a century, and it would fall on her, later in life, to continue cultivating the mysterious little purple plant.

So she knew, if bodies started to pile up, drained of blood, people would notice, and would know what it meant; vampires were back in Mystic Falls. Which meant the Council would do whatever they had to, to find the vampires and drive stakes into their hearts. Which meant that Giulia and her dad were put in a precarious position, playing charade to keep the two brothers out of the Council's crosshairs while using their knowledge of vampires, passed down through the generations in journals, to rid the town of the danger they posed to the population.

If going to visit Vicki in the hospital despite what she'd been doing with Tyler meant that Stefan could modify her memory and, because of it, keep Damon safe, she had to do what she could to protect her family. In fifty years, when her father was dead and gone, her children grown, Damon would still be here, still gorgeous and irreverent, and he would watch over their family even when she was gone. That thought was as comforting as it was heartbreaking to her.

Over tequila, she and Damon had talked at length about the futility of everlasting life. The growing divide from humanity; time slowly eating up every person you ever loved or knew, leaving you utterly alone. Only his love for Katherine and his need for revenge against Stefan kept Damon from walking out into the sun. At least until Giulia had been born, and as she had grown, coaxed not to fear vampires by Damon, she had slowly coerced him back to humanity. Almost identical to her in looks, people saw them together and assumed they were siblings; Damon got to enjoy passing for a human when they spent time together, and Giulia let him. She didn't tiptoe on eggshells around him; he had never wanted that for her, the way every other descendent had been terrified of the original Salvatore brothers coming back for a family visit.

Those family visits always ended with a body-count; but Stefan wanted to stay in Mystic Falls and pretend to be seventeen; and Damon was never very far behind wherever Stefan was, the better to make Stefan's life miserable for making Damon turn all those years ago. For whatever reason Damon was home, Giulia would do what she could to ensure no stake ever got within ten feet of his heart.

Stefan too, she guessed. She had never loved Stefan as much as she did Damon; Stefan had killed Daffodil and Rumball when she was three and she had yet to forgive him for her baby-bunnies' deaths. Part of the reason she had never loved Stefan as much was because she had always been more afraid of him than Damon. Damon, she understood; he had gone out of his way to make sure she understood his lifestyle as a vampire, making sure she knew that what kept him from becoming a Ripper and tearing his victims to pieces was his ability to revel in the feed, not the kill. He was far better at masquerading as human than Stefan, because he fed off of and compelled girlfriends, enjoying them, pretending to be human, engrossing himself in modern culture, while Stefan had no self-control when it came to drinking human-blood, and more than once as a little girl, scraped knees had caused Stefan's face to change, and Damon had had to hold him off her.

Yes. Uncle Stefan had several times almost eaten her as a child. How was that for family-night?

But he was her family; and in his own way, he did what he could to protect the town from himself, and Giulia didn't want to see him killed because of Damon playing mind-games with him.

Giulia set the small posy of flowers on the bedside cabinet, and went to stand by the edge of the room so she could see into the hall while Stefan approached the bed. Vicki moaned softly and woke, Stefan pressed a finger to his lips, telling her to be quiet, and while Giulia kept watch, Stefan murmured to Vicki, "An animal attacked you. It came out of the night and jumped you. You blacked out. It's all you remember."

"That's all I remember," Vicki repeated mindlessly.

"An animal attacked you," Stefan said firmly. "You blacked out. It's all you remember."

"It's all I remember," Vicki sighed, falling asleep, and Stefan glanced up at Giulia, his features sombre but relieved.

"D'you think it'll stick?" she murmured, as Stefan joined her by the door.

"I hope so," Stefan said uneasily, glancing back at Vicki, who was sleeping soundly. Giulia glanced up as she heard hurried footsteps, and an anxious-looking Matt barrelled into the room, followed by a nurse in scrubs.

"She seems fine," the nurse said, a little wide-eyed as she checked the monitor for Vicki's vitals.

"Hey," Matt said, looking a little bewildered to see Stefan, who had never spoken two words to Vicki before today, in her hospital-room, with Giulia—who, of all people, should want to see a huge chunk ripped out of Vicki's throat, but didn't, really.

A whore, yes. But did Vicki deserve to be a vampire's chew-toy? Giulia's answer varied at different times during any given day; as she chatted with Matt, seeing the worry in his eyes, his sadness that his mother hadn't returned home from the beach to see her hospitalised daughter, she wished Damon hadn't attacked Vicki only for Matt's sake. He didn't deserve this; Vicki and their mother already put him through too much. His status as the star quarterback for the Timberwolves was his one ticket out of Mystic Falls to college, the only chance he had to make something of himself. His mother sure as hell did nothing to help, and in fact, she tended to be a drain whenever she bothered to come home from a bender with a new boyfriend. Matt was a nice guy, and didn't deserve the family Fate had dumped him with; so Giulia was quiet as she and Stefan made their way out to her Beetle.

"You're quiet," Stefan remarked softly, as he climbed into the passenger-seat.

"Just…thinking," she said, shrugging delicately. "Matt doesn't deserve that to happen to his sister. He already takes care of her enough."

"Where are their parents?" Stefan asked, as Giulia drove them away from the hospital.

"Matt and Vicki's dad skipped town when they were little; their mother is a notorious train-wreck," Giulia said, sighing. "She spends most of her time at Virginia Beach with whatever guy she's picked up. Vicki spends all her time doing drugs and running away…Matt's left to pay the bills and hope a football-scholarship will get him the hell away from Mystic Falls."

"That sounds rough," Stefan said softly.

"Any other guy would probably start hating the world," Giulia said quietly, gazing through the windscreen. "But Matt's a good guy. Way too good for his family."

"And…Matt and Elena? They used to date?"

"They broke up after the Gilberts' accident," Giulia said, glancing at Stefan. He had told her his secret, that he had heard the crash, dived off Wickery Bridge to save the people inside the submerged car, and dragged Elena up to the surface, saving her life. But she hadn't told anybody; it was the first time their relationship had neared what she and Damon shared, and she had liked it. She had liked that after all this time, she wasn't as afraid of Uncle Stefan anymore, that he had confided a secret in her.

"Elena told me about the accident," Stefan said, looking rather gloomy.

"Must be interesting to have heard it from her perspective," Giulia said thoughtfully. "Do you want me to drop you at home? I'm supposed to meet the girls. We've got to fold about a billion fliers for the ceremony."

"Why don't you just let me out," Stefan suggested. "I could smell blood all over that hospital; I need to hunt." Giulia glanced at Stefan as she pulled to the side of the road, to let him out to roam the woods.

"Please let the baby fawns go," she said, and Stefan smiled, leaned over to cup her head and kiss her cheek, and climbed out of the Beetle. He was gone in a blur, and Giulia pulled back onto the road, heading downtown.

The weather was still great during the day; the humidity, though not Caroline's friend, was Giulia's, it made everything seem warmer, and only at night did it now feel like Fall was approaching. It was hot and sunny; the girls were sat outside at the Grill, folding fliers and sipping drinks, chatting.

In a friendship of four, there were always distinct personalities. If this was _Pretty Little Liars_, Giulia's secrets would be the most shocking. There had been some discussion which characters they'd be if they were put into a novelisation of _Pretty Little Liars: Mystic Falls_; Caroline loved the show for the fashion, and Giulia watched it because Caroline was her best-friend, and sometimes sacrifices had to be made. But like the four very unique girls on the show, Giulia and her best-friends were all distinctive. Overachieving, catty, neurotic Caroline with her gay father and sheriff mother; pretty African-American Bonnie with her crazy drunk Grams teaching them how to do séances to contact Giulia's dead mother when they were twelve, like in _Now & Then_; and olive-skinned Elena, cheerleader, sometime-troublemaker whenever ex-boyfriend Matt was involved, charming and a little pushy.

Caroline was the tanned, ultra-fashionable Barbie; Bonnie, the relaxed and sometimes moody bohemian of the group; Elena was the casual-dresser, all camisoles, long-sleeved t-shirts and lariat necklaces.

And then there was Giulia. The introverted one, accidental Homecoming Queen (Caroline had been home with mono the week preceding the dance, and dick Tyler had entered her as a joke), who was unbearably horny a lot of the time, drank scotch with her father like an adult, read Proust and Dante and was fluent in Italian, and who threw on whatever she had closest to hand after tumbling out of bed, and only dressed up when she was forced to. She was a fan of simplistic, but never minimalistic; with her height and figure, she went for what was flattering over what was fashionable; Caroline called her lazily feminine. Giulia wore dresses, but only because they were the easiest thing to drag on, and her father treated her like an adult, therefore, when she had to dress up for Founders events, her style was more sophisticated and developed than her friends'.

All of the girls, as Giulia sat down with a warm smile, were richly tanned from the summer, Caroline especially due to her love of the Lockwood's swimming-hole in the woods. Cocoa-skinned Bonnie, olive Elena, bronzed Caroline; Giulia had always stood out as 'Snow White' amongst her friends. In fact, her childhood nickname, _Snowy_, had developed from dressing up as Snow White to a Halloween party when she was five: Elena had gone as Belle, Bonnie as Jasmine, and Caroline as Aurora.

A friend of Stefan's had taken Giulia out to buy the costume, her dad had been clueless about princess dresses and _Disney_ movies. Giulia could only remember the very long blonde hair of the girl who had come for Stefan's birthday all those years ago, and played baseball with her at dusk. Giulia had had trouble at T-ball, so Stefan's friend had coaxed and coached her; Giulia had eventually walloped the ball, smashing an upstairs window.

Stefan and Damon being back in town brought back a lot of memories, memories of her childhood with vampires. Folding leaflets with her friends in preparation for the candlelit ceremony, Giulia watched her friends, wondering how they'd react if they ever discovered her secret. Caroline, lover of all things Team Edward, would laugh, thinking it was a joke; Bonnie the sceptic would just roll her eyes and smile, wondering when Giulia had started drinking with her Grams; and Elena would probably just write something in her journal they'd never read.

The fact that Elena had _invited_ Stefan _into her home_ last night didn't go unmissed by Giulia; she watched her friend carefully, listening to what had gone on after the party. Somewhere between dropping Giulia off at home and smashing his bedroom-window with Damon, Stefan had managed to find time to go and spend the rest of the night talking with Elena.

"I was talking to Grams, and she says that the comet is a sign of impending doom," Bonnie said, smirking as if genuinely amused by her batty occultist grandmother's remarks, but Giulia glanced at her, interested. She and Bonnie had never been the closest; in their dynamic of four, the inevitable pairs had come up with moody Bonnie and goody-goody Elena, with laidback Giulia balancing out Caroline's neuroses. But with all she knew of vampires, Giulia wasn't one to brush off Sheila Bennett's claims of witch ancestry, especially since a witch named Emily Bennett had supplied Stefan and Damon with magical rings to allow them to walk in the sunlight.

"How so?" Giulia asked curiously.

"The last time it passed over Mystic Falls, there was lots of death, so much blood and carnage it created a bed of paranormal activity," Bonnie said, passing Giulia the lid full of unfolded leaflets, and Giulia quirked an eyebrow. The last time the comet had passed over Mystic Falls was 1864. The Fell church fire, the murder of those twenty-seven vampires rounded up by the Founders' Council, led by Giuseppe Salvatore himself, who had shot his own sons in the back when they had tried to help their lover.

"Yeah, and then you poured Grams another _shot_ and she told you about the aliens," Caroline smirked. Glancing at Elena, Caroline pressed, "So then what?" Back to Stefan, only last night the subject of Caroline's obsession, now replaced by some mysterious hottie she'd seen at the Grill while Bonnie had gotten her sober on black coffee.

"So then, nothing!"

"You and Stefan _talked_. All night. There was no sloppy first-kiss, no touchy-feely of any kind?" Caroline pressed, her tone disapproving and disbelieving. Giulia grimaced; the idea of Stefan groping one of her friends—of Elena groping her 161-year-old great-uncle—was too strange.

"Nope. We didn't go there."

"Maybe he's gay," Bonnie remarked thoughtfully, and Giulia laughed genuinely for the first time in a little while.

"Stefan's not gay, trust me," she smiled. "He's just…very old-fashioned."

"So, what, Elena's not even gonna get a handshake until he gets a ring on her finger?" Caroline smirked, and Giulia chuckled. "Elena, we are your friends. You're supposed to share the smut."

"Giulia doesn't share."

"Giulia is special," Caroline said, beaming at Giulia. The two of them were a pair, Caroline and Giulia: neurotic and laidback; catty and kind; fashionable and athletic; Prom Queen and bookworm; boy-crazed and addicted to orgasms.

When Giulia and Tyler had had sex for the first time, she hadn't told anyone until nearly two months later—by which time she and Tyler were having incredibly hot sex nearly every night, sometimes more than once, and depending on the sway of the moon, more and more aggressive and demanding. There was a mature aspect to sex with Tyler that she didn't think had anything to do with his personality or sexual prowess; they had been each other's firsts, and she had noticed, only because she loved to swim under the stars and liked astrology, that Tyler had been more aggressive and incredible in bed on the nights when the moon had been full.

She hadn't told Damon that Tyler got aggressive and strange on the full-moon: and she hadn't told the girls she'd lost her virginity until nearly two months after the fact.

That she had lost her virginity first had been an insult to Caroline, for some neurotic reason of her own; Bonnie guessed it was that Giulia was…well, kind of a tomboy. Not feminine, but not exactly unwomanly; Giulia toed the line of femininity at best. Bonnie guessed that it had gotten to girly, ultra-feminine, boy-crazed Caroline that Giulia, who didn't wear lots of makeup, only wore heels if forced into them by social convention, didn't wear perfume and had to be given a pair of straighteners for her birthday _by_ Caroline, had gotten a boy to sleep with her before Caroline.

At a party shortly after Giulia's revelation to the girls, Caroline had picked one of the cutest boys on the football team that Matt could introduce her to, and had sex with him after downing half a bottle of vodka.

"We just talked for hours," Elena sighed.

"Okay, what is with the blockage?" Caroline half-laughed. "Jump his bones already. 'Kay, it's easy. Boy likes girl. Girls likes boy. _Sex_."

"Profound," Elena said drily, and Bonnie caught Giulia's eye; Giulia chuckled softly, shaking her head, and continued folding pamphlets.

"Not all boys just want one thing," Giulia said softly, glancing at Caroline, adjusting her sunglasses, a rather chic designer pair Damon had picked out for her and which she loved. "Stefan's…he's…a romantic."

"You know what, you really have a bonus," Caroline said, glancing from Giulia to Elena. "Giulia's on the inside. You'll be like our spy. Give Elena help with Stefan."

"Oh, I'm not going there," Giulia said idly, folding another flier. "I refuse to get involved."

"Come on! It's your womanly _duty_ to help!" Caroline coaxed.

"I don't think Elena needs help," Giulia smiled, adjusting her sunglasses before reaching to sip her drink. "It takes a lot to catch Stefan's eye." And by that she meant that Stefan had only taken a second glance at Elena because she was the exact image of his dead lover from a hundred and forty-five years ago. She was still trying to work that one out. Direct ancestry didn't explain how Elena and Katherine could look like _twins_.

Elena sighed, her expression transparent as she seemed to make up her mind, and she put down the flier she had been folding, grabbed her jacket and shrugged the sleeves on.

"Where are you going?" Bonnie asked.

"Caroline's right. It is easy," Elena said. "If I sit here long enough, I'll end up talking myself out of it instead of doing what I started out the day saying I was gonna do."

"D'you reckon you should text Stefan and let him know Elena's going over to your house for some sex?" Bonnie asked, deadpan, as they watched Elena stride away.

"Guys hate it when they're surprised with sex," Giulia said solemnly, and Caroline giggled, sipping her drink. "Come on, we've got a million more of these. I hope Stefan's bedroom prowess is worth the guilt-trip we'll give her for ditching her workload."

"Tell me about it," Caroline sighed, sipping her drink.

"Next time, try single-page fliers," Bonnie suggested, giving Caroline a look, and Giulia nodded.

"Seconded," she said.

"Oh!" Caroline blurted. "Giulia, you finished the astronomy chart, right?"

"Yes," Giulia nodded. "It's at home. I checked all the LED lights, and I still have glitter on my face, so thank you for that."

"Good!" Caroline beamed, bouncing slightly in her seat. "Okay, so, we've got all the candles, the little plastic cup thingies; the food vendors should start setting up at _five_, and the entertainment stalls will be operational by then, the face-painting, all that stuff."

"And by that time we will _still_ be folding these things," Bonnie said, sighing as she folded another flier, and Giulia chuckled.

"Hey, have you decided whether you're actually gonna come to this thing?" Caroline asked, glancing at Giulia.

"I…don't know," Giulia sighed. She spent a lot of time on various committees, planning different events, ceremonies like these, parties, fundraisers, pancake-breakfasts, bake-sales and things like that, but when it came to it, sometimes she just wasn't up for being part of the final event. Too many people, the work not always appreciated; Bonnie and Elena teased that she had joined committees to save the rest of the members from Caroline; she had a great way of mellowing Caroline's crazy.

Which was true; Giulia countered Caroline's excess with money-saving and DIY, making things 'fabulous' without breaking the budget Giulia was in charge of as treasurer of several committees, as well as student-body Treasurer at school.

"Come on, you have to come. See all your hard work in action," Caroline coaxed.

"I'll see," Giulia sighed. Something as special and once-in-a-lifetime as a comet burning across the sky, she didn't want to have the experience ruined by screaming children wanting their faces painted with butterflies, the smell of old hotdogs and the chingling, ringing noises of games for scratchy polyester prizes. She might start the evening here in the town square, light her candle, and then disappear to enjoy the comet the way she wanted to.

Giulia got like that sometimes; reclusive. She would put in the effort to be part of the group, to help her friends create amazing events they would remember in twenty years, but sometimes her friends were too much to handle. Not Caroline, Bonnie and Elena; the others, the hangers-on, the ones who created the white noise and drank all the beer, made idiots of themselves and made it so that she and the girls had to spend the next day cleaning up vomit and crushed nachos. Sometimes, she preferred solitude, especially recently. She didn't let her heartbreak over Tyler's treatment of her get in the way of Elena's grief; but there had to come a point where they had to start focusing on each other's issues, not just Elena's.

With Damon and Stefan in town, Giulia felt sure there would be no end of drama in the coming months. Especially since Caroline had seemed hell-bent on ensnaring Stefan; that she'd been passed over for perfect Elena, yet again, was a direct insult, one they'd all suffered over the years.

Everything seemed to happen to Elena. The amazing parents, the cool, sexy aunt who taught them how to put on makeup, the cute little-brother who always gave hand-illustrated birthday-cards, _family-nights_, the sweet boyfriend, cheerleader, straight-A student, Founding daughter.

And Caroline was a child of divorce, with a workaholic sheriff for a mother, whom she didn't get on with at all, a gay father who travelled a lot and rarely came back into town to spend time with his daughter; she was the overachieving, slightly petty, neurotic Barbie who had control issues and yearned for what she truly did deserve, just didn't quite ever get. She craved attention because she didn't get it at home, and was sensitive about rejection. Especially when she was passed over for one of her friends, like Elena.

If Damon didn't stir up trouble or Stefan managed to _not_ go on a bender, by Caroline's expression as she and Bonnie chatted about Elena having gone off to find Stefan, and demanding information about her "cousin" out of Giulia, they were in danger of one of the girls' epic catfights erupting.

"Come on, you've gotta tell us more about Stefan," Bonnie coaxed. "It is our duty as Elena's best-friends to make sure this guy's good enough for her."

"But Stefan is my family, and that takes precedent; I want to know if Elena will be good to Stefan," Giulia said, handing Bonnie a folded flier.

"Touché," Bonnie nodded, smiling.

"Anyway, I don't really spend much time with Stefan," Giulia admitted. "I'm closer to his older-brother, Damon."

"Come on, give us details!" Caroline begged. "We have to know if they'll be compatible; because if they're not, there's no point Elena getting all depressed again when he dumps her." Giulia chuckled, folding another flier. The idea of Stefan dumping Elena for any other reason than trying to protect her continued existence as a human was laughable; he was too infatuated with her likeness to Katherine to just let her go. She was an enigma he had to investigate from every angle.

"Okay…he's a huge Bon Jovi fan. He always laughs watching _I Love Lucy_," Giulia sighed thoughtfully, trying to remember all the things she'd picked up about Uncle Stefan from his visits. "He's a good cook, listens to different music genres, likes vintage cars, reads a lot… He keeps a journal, likes football. Good at darts."

"So basically he's just like any other seventeen-year-old guy," Caroline nodded, and Giulia smirked to herself as she sipped her drink. _Yeah_.

"Yeah, except cuter," Bonnie grinned, and Giulia chuckled softly.

"Believe it or not, Stefan's the plain one in the family," she said. "His older-brother is gorgeous."

"Giulia, he's your cousin!"

"It's an honest observation," Giulia said, shrugging delicately.

"Stefan is ridiculously pretty," Bonnie said, and Giulia smiled.

"I have to worry about you going after him now, as well as Caroline?" she said, and Bonnie reached out to slap her arm playfully; Giulia laughed, dodging, and Caroline sipped her soda petulantly.

"I totally had dibs!"

"Car, you're gonna meet someone a _lot_ sexier someday, and you're going to drive him mad; he's not gonna stop till he's snapped you up," Giulia said coaxingly, watching her best-friend's features sadden.

"You're right!" Caroline declared, bolstering her own ego as she straightened in her seat. Caroline was like that; up and down in the same moment. "If he can't see what I've got to offer, screw him!"

"Exactly," Giulia nodded, her features hardening, her stomach flipping, as a group of guys sauntered into the Grill. Tyler was among them.

Giulia wasn't good at being girly; _cattish_. Caroline had a handle on how to treat exes after she had been treated badly, and she'd been trying to coach Giulia in the art of it, but Giulia didn't have the patience to glower and be wounded. Not in public. Her heartbreak came from grief and loss; she had lost one of her best-friends when Tyler had decided to go skirt-hopping. In a shadowy house full of memories, just her and her father, Giulia's existence had always been a little lonely, even with her three girlfriends. As a young adolescent, it had been Tyler who helped patch up the feeling of loneliness that crippled her chest sometimes.

And now, she couldn't lie in her huge bed without her eyes burning for her loss; because there was nobody to share it with her. No _companionship_, closeness.

That closeness was what she craved, what she lost with every quick romp in the backseat of someone's car, no penetration, no communion, just her working to get off, thankfully leaving the boy satisfied, _impersonal_.

Giulia had been the only person Tyler had ever let that aggressive, arrogant guard down with; she got to see the sweet, fierce part of his personality, the artistic side he kept hidden, the part of him easily injured by the words and actions of his dick of a father. She had lost that part of Tyler she loved, the part of him that made it easy to love him, the sweet, sexy side to him that she had reminded herself of every time he had been a dick to her. To lose him was to lose that sweet side to him he didn't know how to share with anyone else. And she had always been too afraid to see that little part of him disappear forever to break up with him.

They had never been the on-and-off couple, like on TV shows; they didn't argue and get back together, they weren't packed with drama. She and Tyler had been a couple since freshman year, but privately; she didn't impede Tyler's ability to spend time with his friends, and he didn't get pissy when she passed him over for girls' night. They had spent time in private, and when they hung out as a couple in public, they weren't nauseating; they were friends before they were anything else, and now that he had finally crossed the line, Giulia had cut the cord cleanly, no chance at redemption; they were over, and he would have to live with the repercussions of the decisions he'd made.

But it meant she'd lost a very great friend. She had been wronged, cheated on with someone Tyler didn't give a damn about. Someone who wasn't even worth the breakup, losing Giulia. She hoped.

Those were her feelings; that he'd royally fucked up the best relationship he had going for him, for a little tramp he didn't care about at all, an easy lay he shouldn't even have been chasing in the first place. Even if Giulia didn't parade her sexual relationships around the way Caroline did her conquests, Tyler had been _incredibly_ grateful when they had started sleeping together. Apparently, her prowess in bed was infamous in the boys' locker-room.

Caroline glared at Tyler as he sauntered into the Grill, tripping up only slightly when he saw Giulia, something flickering across his face, but Giulia folded leaflets and didn't care to glower or make herself feel angry. She'd done that enough; felt angry, betrayed, heartbroken and overwhelmed. Now she just felt sad.

"Are you okay?" Caroline asked gently, once the boys had moved inside. Giulia shrugged slightly.

"Yeah," she murmured.

"Want me to hex his junk off?" Bonnie offered, wide-eyed, and Giulia laughed freely. "I am a _witch_. I'm sure Grams knows a spell!"

"Maybe we could just put his picture on the Herpes Alert website," Caroline said thoughtfully, gazing at the Grill door. She blurted, "Vicki Donovan's such a _slut_. She totally deserves getting a chunk ripped out of her neck for what she did with Tyler."

"Yeah," Bonnie agreed on a sigh, watching Giulia carefully. "You sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine," Giulia smiled sadly.

"Okay…hey, how about I cheer you up? Want me to read your palm?" Bonnie smiled.

"Come on, we tried that last year during homeroom," Caroline said. "You told me I'd die before my eighteenth birthday! I refuse to die during my filler-year."

"Some of us haven't reached the filler-year yet," Giulia reminded her, with a smile; she hadn't yet reached her seventeenth birthday, but she was sure Caroline would plan some fabulously over-the-top party for it. Caroline was good that way, trying to compensate for Giulia's mixed feelings on her birthday.

"Come on, let me read your palm," Bonnie grinned, and Giulia offered Bonnie her hand, palm up. Bonnie took her hand, and her features slackened, gazing into the distance, as if in some kind of trance.

"Bonnie?" It wasn't unusual for Bonnie to space out; Bonnie teased that it was because she was a 'witch', and Giulia was probably the only one who believed her, even including Bonnie herself, who thought her Grams was kooky and drank too much. Giulia had read Stefan's journal from 1864, had read about Emily Bennett, and Damon saving her children when the Founders had come to burn the witch. So she believed.

"Bonnie?" Caroline repeated, arching an eyebrow at Giulia. Bonnie blinked, shaking her head slightly, and released Giulia's hand.

"What is it?" Giulia asked gently, watching Bonnie's features concernedly.

"I saw something…"

"Tall, dark and handsome?" Caroline smirked.

"I don't know about tall," Bonnie murmured, gazing at Giulia. "Definitely _handsome_, though… You were in the _bath_ with him."

"Oh!" Giulia half-laughed, raising her eyebrows as Caroline laughed, pulling a face at Giulia as if impressed.

"Yeah. You two were just…talking. You looked comfortable together," Bonnie murmured softly, gazing at Giulia. "He…he wore a ring, on his middle-finger. He seemed older."

"Older how?"

"I don't know…it's the same way Stefan seems older," Bonnie mumbled, blushing slightly as her eyes widened. Bonnie had noticed that Stefan seemed too old for his seventeen-year-old body, then? And most of the time he did act far too maturely for a seventeen-year-old, his only giveaway. "I don't…even know what that means… But he _looked_ older, too… Early thirties, maybe."

"Giulia! Snagging an older-man!" Caroline grinned mischievously. "Who'd have thought!"

"Not me," Giulia said. An older man? Her? She could manage boys her age; they only wanted one thing, and everybody knew it. But older guys? They didn't so much intimidate her as make her feel shy, but either way she didn't really like talking to older men. Especially since she had hit puberty, and Tyler's father had taken to _eyeing_ her. He was a creep, an entitled, aggressive and arrogant creep, and Tyler sometimes had to apologise for the way his father acted around her, especially if Mrs Lockwood wasn't around.

"Well, here's to Giulia's older-man, _my_ future boyfriend and Bonnie's witchery," Caroline said, raising her soda. "May any guy who wrongs us dread Bonnie's spell-book."

"To Tyler's soon-to-be-severed junk," Bonnie said, raising her glass, and Giulia laughed as she chinked glasses with the girls.

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**A.N.**: Please review.


	4. A Comet

**A.N.**: Don't you hate sneezing? Throws me off. Anyway, this is yet another chapter, I am having quite a bit of fun writing these. Thank you to everyone who has reviewed; please keep them coming, as a reward for writing this story!

I've worked out a few kinks, how to put Giulia into the story and have her affect the outcomes of several different 'episodes', including the Vicki storyline.

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**Drunken Binges, Funerals and Formals**

_04_

_A Comet_

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"You didn't tell me Stefan had so many _issues_," Elena said accusatorily, smiling briefly as she passed out a flier; Giulia smiled casually and gave away some of hers.

"What do you mean?"

"When I went to your house yesterday—"

"You went to my house?"

"Yeah. I wanted to see Stefan. Anyway, when I got there, this guy called Damon was there. Why didn't you tell me Stefan's brother was in town?" Elena frowned.

"Damon does his own thing; he's here one day, gone the next," Giulia said softly, which was true; Damon was a fan of the blitz-attack. She never knew when he was coming, which made it all the more exciting when he _did_ show up to drag her to frat-parties, down tequila shots, hone her darts skills and take her shopping (something she hated, but he made it fun, and knew exactly what her style was and what she would look fantastic in), sneak her into clubs for concerts, taking a leaf out of the Beatniks' book and going on spur-of-the-moment road-trips in search of the best piece of pie or pulled-barbecue sandwich.

"Well, you could've mentioned those two have issues," Elena frowned.

"Why's that?" Giulia asked, frowning down at her friend. Elena looked slightly taken aback.

"Well, why wouldn't I want to know that Stefan has _raging _issues with his brother?" Elena persisted, and Giulia sighed. Elena was pushy. She was a pusher; she pushed and pushed, until people snapped and pushed back, at which point Elena would flutter her long eyelashes in a wounded-doe expression, and they'd feel terrible.

"Because it's not really any of your business," Giulia said softly, and she saw Bonnie quirk an eyebrow as she handed someone a flier. Out of the four of them, Caroline was the bitchy one, Bonnie got moody, and Elena always seemed to come off as an angel; Giulia spoke honestly and sometimes bluntly, because she didn't like tiptoeing around things when people's feelings were in danger of being hurt. Bonnie kept Caroline in check when she was being a bitch, and usually Giulia would defend her; and, similarly, Bonnie would always side with Elena whenever Giulia reminded Elena that she was pushy, bossy and sometimes unnecessarily judgemental, could be cool and unpleasant and a lot of the time acted holier-than-thou.

"Excuse me?"

"It's Stefan's business," Giulia said, shrugging. "And Damon's. Their relationship is complicated, it always has been. They're…they're _brothers_. They'reantagonistic, reactive…and sometimes not very kind to each other."

"Stefan didn't even tell me he had a brother," Elena sighed.

"They don't spend much time together, Damon's older," Giulia said casually.

"What's he like?" Elena asked. "Stefan seemed…different around him."

"Damon… I'm biased, because he's my favourite, but he's…seductive, and he's a risk-taker. He can be dark, and almost sociopathic, but underneath it all, he's probably the best friend I've ever had. He helped Daddy raise me, like a big-brother."

"He's a sexy sociopath but he's your _favourite_?" Elena quirked an eyebrow disbelievingly.

"Like I said, their relationship is complicated," Giulia shrugged. "So is mine with them. I was never close with Stefan, but Damon…he knows how to live… He always knew what to say to me to make me feel better."

"Like how?" Elena asked.

Giulia sighed softly, handing out the last of her fliers. "He always knew how to cheer me up when I was sad about my mother. And he knows how to live; he…I don't know, he helps me be all that I can be. But only when I'm with him; he encourages me to let loose, take risks…and not feel guilty about it." She smiled to herself, remember everything Damon had ever taught her about his lifestyle as a vampire. "He gets me to revel in being _alive_."

Elena seemed to think this over for a minute, as Giulia handed out fliers. Everybody knew Giulia was the slight introvert who was prone to bouts of self-seclusion, who didn't really put herself forward and was the shy girl in the group of four. She wasn't outgoing like Caroline, like Elena had once been before her parents' accident; she wasn't quirky the way Bonnie was with her witchcraft. So anybody who could get her to stop being sad about her mother, even for a short enough time to encourage her to be bold, was definitely someone special. But combined with how others perceived Damon, it was an incongruity that Damon was kind, encouraging and affectionate to Giulia.

"And Stefan?" Elena asked.

"Stefan was always more…standoffish with me," Giulia said softly. Standoffish, because he didn't want her to follow the fate of Daffodil and Rumball. While Damon had been right in the thick of her childhood, chasing her through the woods, teaching her how to throw a football, teaching her how to read and coaxing her into playing with _dolls_ (the photographs of Damon playing tea-party with her were locked in the vault for future leverage), Stefan had been too afraid of hurting Giulia to be around her too much. "He's always been a bit of an introvert. More into books than anything. More so recently."

"Because of Katherine," Elena said, and Giulia glanced around, wide-eyed. She stared at Elena.

"Stefan… Stefan told you about Katherine?"

"No, Damon did—which is odd. Why wouldn't _Stefan_ tell me about his ex-girlfriend? Don't I have the right to know?"

"Not really. It's way too early to delve into each other's pasts," Giulia said, frowning subtly. She doubted Stefan would have told Elena about Katherine at all; too much time had passed, and Stefan was convinced that compulsion had had everything to do with the way he had felt about Katherine way back when. Anyway, talking about Katherine could lead to questions Stefan couldn't answer without all his deep, dark secrets coming out "And Katherine is…well, _that_ story isn't a first-date, awkward-exes conversation. You've gotta earn it."

"He should've told me; I felt like an _idiot_ that he's using me to rebound from her. I deserve to know."

"No, you don't," Giulia said with quiet sternness, frowning at Elena, who looked taken aback.

"Excuse me?"

"What happened with Katherine is private, and it's painful for him, Elena," Giulia said, gazing sternly at Elena. "A lot of the antagonism between Damon and Stefan is down to Katherine. They're still healing. Don't go digging into old wounds."

For a moment, Elena put on her best petulant, wounded-doe look, the one everyone else melted for, the one she had long ago begun to be irritated by. She'd perfected that through-the-lashes look long before her parents had died. Elena mumbled, "What was she like?"

"Katherine? From what I've heard, she was a spoiled bitch who was dating Damon and Stefan at the same time, and manipulated each brother to keep the secret from the other," Giulia said honestly. She doubted Damon mentioned the whole story; to avoid complications for either Damon or Stefan, she wanted that cleared up quickly.

"Wow," Bonnie grimaced, raising her eyebrows.

"When did they break up?" Elena asked.

"Um…they didn't, really," Giulia said, glancing at Elena. She might as well know; if Damon was whispering in her ear, and Stefan wasn't exactly one to divulge his secrets except in old leather-bound journals, she would have to play mediator, both between the brothers and between the vampires and humans. "Katherine died."

"Oh my god," Elena stared.

"It was a while ago," Giulia shrugged. A hundred and forty-five years ago. "By all accounts, she was no saint. But her death destroyed Damon; Stefan…he realised that he'd been manipulated by Katherine, but the wounds are still healing… They need to heal."

"Why did you tell me all of this?" Elena said.

"Because I don't want you being unkind and pushy with Stefan for not telling you something that's his business," Giulia sighed. Even if it meant she had to break his confidence… Well, the unspoken agreement they all had not to talk about Katherine, mostly because the greatest and most destructive relationship both Stefan and Damon had ever been involved in had occurred in 1864. And any conversation about that was far too surreal.

"What do you mean, unkind and pushy?"

"You push, Elena. You're a pusher," Giulia said quietly. "Some things just aren't your business." Elena gasped, looking insulted.

"Easy, Giulia," Bonnie said, giving her a look.

"You didn't like it when everybody wanted your account of what happened that night on the bridge," Giulia pointed out gently to Elena, who bit her lip. "It's the same for Stefan with Katherine."

Giulia's phone rang, and she tugged her _Blackberry_ Torch out of her pocket, biting her lip. "Hi, Daddy," she mumbled.

"_Hey, sweetheart_," her dad said softly on the other end, sounding like he was smiling. "_You finished handing out the fliers_?"

"Almost… Is something wrong?" Giulia asked.

"_The house is empty; I was hoping we could talk_," her dad said.

"Do you want me to come home?" Giulia asked.

"_I don't know when we'll have another opportunity_," Dad said. Giulia bit her lip again; he wanted to talk about Damon and Stefan being home, while they were out of the house.

"I'll see you in a bit," she promised, hanging up the phone; to the girls, she said, "I have to go, my dad wants to talk. I'll be back later."

"Look hot!" Bonnie called after her. "Make him regret it!" Giulia waved over her shoulder as she strode toward her car, knowing Bonnie meant Giulia had to look sexy as hell to make Tyler feel awful about losing her. Caroline had tried to explain the sexual politics of a breakup to Giulia; but the girls were just lucky she was contemplating even coming to light her candle tonight, instead of doing what she really wanted to and watch the comet in peace.

The house was quiet; Giulia found her dad in his office, a dark, panelled room that was, besides the library, one of the most beautiful in the house. Leather furniture, a heavy, antique desk, the walls covered with bookcases full of trinkets, art pieces and things ancestors had collected over the centuries, the crest of their Florentine noble family was carved over the fireplace with a portrait of their most beautiful ancestor, Veronica, a famed beauty in Renaissance Florence.

"Hey, sweetheart," her dad smiled, glancing up from his book; her dad spent a _lot_ of time reading. The fact that Giulia shouldn't have ever been born wasn't a secret; neither was the fact that her father had planned to live his life in solitude, reading, drinking his finest whisky, giving Damon no opportunity to harm anybody he loved. Giulia yawned, letting her bag fall from her shoulder as she bounced down in her favourite leather armchair. When she was little, she used to come and sit in this chair, watching her father work. She used to mimic his behaviour, sitting with a book in her lap, glancing up and watching to see she was doing it properly; this was before Damon had taught her to read, and she used to make her dad laugh.

"So…you wanted to talk about Stefan and Damon?" she said softly. Her dad sighed heavily. She knew he hated it when the brothers came to 'visit'; Damon antagonised and intimidated him, meanwhile being kind to Giulia, seemingly 'manipulating' her, but Giulia and her dad had had conversations about why Giulia preferred one brother over the other, and her dad believed Damon wouldn't hurt her; Damon had never had any kind of relationship with other Salvatore relatives like he did with Giulia.

"I just wanted to know how you feel about them being back in Mystic Falls," her dad sighed, gazing at her kind of sadly.

"I'm okay with it," she shrugged delicately. It wasn't as if they could do anything about them being here even if they _weren't_ okay with it. The vervain kept Giulia safe from compulsion; her dad ingested it with his coffee every morning, but that wouldn't help if Damon got it into his head they were expendable. He made it no secret he _allowed_ Giulia's father to continue living, and in this home, because having a living relative made sure no other vampire could enter the property without an invitation, thus protecting Damon and Stefan as much as Giulia and her father.

As a child, Zach had taught her never to be blasé with inviting people into the house; guests had to cross the threshold without invitation to garner their trust. The only vampire besides Stefan and Damon to cross over the threshold of the Boarding House was Stefan's oldest friend, Lexi, the vague blonde memory Giulia had of that Halloween when she was five.

Her dad sighed, running a hand over his face. "I trust Stefan to keep you safe, Giulia." He gave her a very earnest look. "Damon has _no_ regard for human-life. Not even his own family's."

"Stefan killed Giuseppe, not Damon," Giulia pointed out gently; Stefan had started off worse than her father believed Damon was now.

"Damon killed Grandpa Joseph," her dad replied, with a bite of sternness, and Giulia sighed, looking down at her hands in her lap. She knew Damon had killed Great-Grandpa Joseph; all she knew was that Great-Grandpa Joseph had been very much like her father. He hadn't liked it when Damon came back into Mystic Falls; he'd had a family just like Zach now did, and didn't appreciate Damon the Demon coming to threaten them. "I know you favour Damon, you always have—but I don't trust him. Not around you, and if it means keeping you safe, I'll do anything."

"Daddy—"

"I mean it, Giulia," her dad said solemnly. "This is your home; I don't want you to feel scared to come home, or manipulated into their game."

"Daddy," Giulia sighed, gazing at her father. "I'm not afraid to come home. And Damon told me ages ago why things have to be the way they are between him and Stefan. And Stefan didn't deny it; but Damon's also always promised not to drag me into the middle of it."

"Damon's word isn't something I'd take very seriously," her dad sighed, and she gave him a look, sighing subtly. Giulia was the only person who had any kind of relationship with Damon; the only one he let see beyond the bravado, the ego, the playfulness and sexy allure. She got to see an admittedly slightly _altered_ version of the man he had once been, before Katherine Pierce had come into his life and destroyed his relationship with his once-beloved brother. The sweet man who had taught her how to read, took her to get her ears pierced when she was twelve, gave her the first tequila she'd ever tasted, took her to the movies and bought her pretty dresses she'd never otherwise buy for herself, who'd gotten her into ballroom-dancing and Hitchcock movies, Wodehouse, Proust, Dante and Voltaire, the Dead Kennedys, Rachmaninov and The Kinks.

That was a side of Damon Giulia and _only_ Giulia ever got to see, a side to him nobody ever understood Damon could show, because they didn't believe he was capable of love, affection.

So when Damon had promised he'd never hurt her, she believed it; but she wasn't deaf to the implication. To the _loophole_; he had never promised he wouldn't hurt her dad. And her dad tiptoed around Damon so he wouldn't rile him, thus causing him to react in typical vampire fashion, the same way Great-Grandpa Joseph had died.

"As long as we don't make him angry, we'll be safe," Giulia said comfortingly. Her dad sighed.

"I just don't want you to get hurt," he said, gazing at her earnestly. Again, Giulia was reminded of the fact that Zach had wished to die childless, to avoid a situation like this where her safety, her _life_, hung in the balance. The fact that she _was_ here made her all the more precious to him, because at any second her life could be snuffed out like a candle.

"I won't," Giulia smiled. "Come on, Daddy, stop worrying."

"You're right," he sighed. "I've got wrinkles enough." Giulia chuckled, and he winked. "You gonna go get ready for the ceremony?"

"Yeah," Giulia sighed heavily. "I promised Caroline I'd make an appearance."

"And what Miss Forbes wants…"

"Exactly," Giulia smiled. "Are you gonna go out?"

"I'm gonna watch from the garden," her dad smiled sadly. Astronomy was something he had shared with her mother; the reason Caroline had put her in charge of the astronomy chart, charting the constellations for the kids to learn, was because her dad had taught her the names of all of the stars and constellations. Her dad would sit in the garden tonight with a scotch, and think about Giulia's mother while he watched the comet.

"Just don't have too much to drink," Giulia said, and her father gave her a look.

"I promise," he said solemnly, and Giulia nodded, picking up her bag; she made her way up to her bedroom, knowing her dad would definitely have a little too much to drink tonight, because thinking too much about her mother, and her mother being gone, always made her dad drink a little too much. So tomorrow he would spend the morning in bed and she'd have to bring strong coffee and plain Eggos or a buttery bagel to him with a lot of orange juice, Aspirin, and make sure the curtains stayed closed.

Her dad was delicate as a vampire when it came to sunlight while he was hungover.

Her bedroom was tucked up in a corner of the Boarding House, with numerous windows, each of them unique, and the dark, earthy tone of the main house was continued in the rich panelling, the angles that created secretive alcoves for illicit activities, the textures and character. The Boarding House, with its _Wuthering_ _Heights_ darkness, charm and sinisterly romantic mystery, was very much her, and she had developed this part of the house as much as the house had imprinted on her personality.

Her childhood nursery was a different room, in the other wing of the house near her father's bedroom; Damon had put her current bedroom together for her, to cheer her up after she had gotten her first period—not something many girls went through with a vampiric fairy-godfather. She hadn't exactly told him what was wrong, but he hadn't needed her to tell him; he'd sensed it, and put this mature bedroom together for her, to help her transition from girl to young-woman, and to coax her into reconciling the tomboyish girl she had once been with the strong, kind woman she was becoming.

Damon was a minimalist, but one who adored texture, warmth, understated luxury, and he had put her bedroom together to reflect aspects of her personality; dark, a little moody in a romantic, tragic way, giving off the feeling of a secret hideaway where she could sink into novels while a small fire crackled in the small grate. Her bedroom featured warm golden-beige blinds; delicate tiered-ruffle curtains in muted sage; hardwood floors with woven rugs; numerous throw-cushions in raspberry and wine-red popping on a polished window-seat: the simplicity of her iridescent-champagne and plain linens contrasted the decadence of her wallpaper, a damask-style print in rose-gold shimmering on a muted pale-copper. Her bed, a queen-size, tucked against a corner in the eaves, was piled with pillows and always made in the mornings, her raggedy old teddy-beartucked up against the right-hand pillow where Giulia usually slept, along with her baby-blanket. She still slept with both, cuddling them to her chest.

Mirrored candle sconces were affixed to the walls, while beaded pendants dangled romantically above the window-seat with a wire hot-air balloon; and a memo-board packed with photographs, cards, reminders, ticket-stubs, invitations and paper mementos contrasted the antique leather-topped Louis desk on which composition notebooks, a laptop, framed photographs, a little tray of nail-polishes and eyeshadow cubes, books and trinkets were arranged.

There were books _everywhere_, thanks to the Salvatore family's library, and details packed with Giulia's personality were scattered around the room: a clear bubble-based lamp; a Babushka doll beside a milk-glass vase featuring red ranunculus, a neat collection of childhood storybooks kept upright by a small porcelain bud-vase of vibrant coral peonies; a print of Alice talking to the Dodo in _Wonderland_ attached neatly to the wall beside a Bowie vinyl sleeve, a photo-booth strip of her and Tyler; a faux-snakeskin box filled with her limited selection of jewellery; the two perfumes she alternated on special-occasions; a very old camera and a collection of wooden star brain-puzzles.

A collection of beautiful heels specifically for ballroom-dancing had collected around a small, red vintage toy stroller. A polished case of high-quality coloured-pencils rested on a low dresser full of her clothes, while an angled little cupboard served as a closet full of her nice, formal dresses, and a beautiful ball-gown of sparkling rose-coloured tulle rested on a silk-covered hanger over the door; a small leather sofa with natural linen seat-cushions rested in a little nook with yet more books, concealing the extension-cord she charged her laptop, _iPod_ and _Blackberry_ from, and a small coffee-table in the corner featured a flat-screen television with a little DVD-player lurking on the shelf beneath with a load of magazines, more books, a bra and a deep burgundy lipstick-tube.

A small, furry grey thing streaked out from under the bed, and Giulia reached down, smiling as she stroked Firenze, her pretty tabby-cat, named for the true Italian name of her family's ancient home, Florence. "Hi, kitty," she sighed softly, stroking Firenze as he rubbed himself against her ankles, purring softly. Firenze was a young cat, not a kitten but not considered an adult cat yet. And he hadn't come into the main part of the house since Stefan had arrived last week. Perhaps he really could understand her; she'd warned him about the fate of Daffodil and Rumball.

Approaching her dresser, Giulia puckered her lips thoughtfully as she stared at the neatly-folded tops—arranged by sleeve-length, because she was pedantic about her laundry. One of her private quirks was her love of doing laundry, and ironing. She ironed all her dad's shirts while they watched TV together, usually a movie or baseball.

'Sexy'. Giulia didn't understand the sexual politics of a couple of sixteen-year-olds breaking up. And most of the time her personal opinion of 'sexy' differed from her best-friends; Caroline would have a whole closet of Hervé Leger if she could have afforded it. Perhaps due to Damon's and Stefan's influence on her as a child, watching classic movies with Grace Kelly, Elizabeth Taylor, Marilyn Monroe, etc., she had come to associate sex-appeal with self-confidence, exquisite tailoring and subtle makeup. And she didn't truly care whether Tyler saw her and wanted to ravish her; she had decided she would never be the girl who cried and secretly hoped her ex would see her and regret his actions, begging her to take him back. _Fool me once_…

She picked out a weathered old white _Abercrombie_ peasant-blouse, bought on a shopping-outing with Caroline, and now translucent from constant wear, her go-to lazy-but-pretty top; she tugged it on over a change of bra, and approached her faux-snakeskin box, which was filled with her own jewellery collection. She preferred having a few pieces of fine jewellery to a collection of cheap costume stuff sold in _Forever21_ and_ TopShop_.

When she couldn't find anything, she glanced around, eyed Firenze suspiciously in case he was watching her for her hiding-places, and went to the small, exquisitely-hidden compartment in one of the small panels of her bedroom wall by the closet. When she had turned sixteen, her dad had given her the fine jewellery that had belonged to her mother. There were some _exquisite_ pieces, family diamonds passed down, things she would wear on her wedding-day; these were kept in one of the vaults. But there were pieces she knew from photographs that her mother had favoured on a daily basis: _Van Cleef & Arpels_ had been her favourite jeweller, and Giulia loved to wear her mother's jewellery. She opened the leather case containing the turquoise-and-yellow-gold 'Alhambra' necklace, draping it over her head after pulling her hair up into a lazy knot with a few bobby-pins. She wasn't planning to stay out long, or in full dress, so the easier it was to get out of her outfit, the better.

She said goodbye to her father, hoping without much conviction that he would remember his promise not to drink too much; he wasn't the only one she had to worry about, by the time she got downtown, parking a few blocks away from Main Street and the town square, the roads closed due to the festival and the nearest parking-spaces already taken.

"Few months ago I had to wrestle you into dresses," someone remarked, and Giulia glanced up as she made her way to the town square. It was Damon; she smiled and fell into step beside him; his long legs ate up the sidewalk, but she kept up easily, barely an inch shorter. "Now you change outfits twice in one day? To go _out_?"

"My best-friend is Barbie," Giulia smiled. "She had to rub off sometime."

"Mm. Caroline. She grew up pretty," Damon remarked idly.

"Very pretty," Giulia corrected gently. She was faithful to Caroline, always; she knew how hard Caroline tried, and despite her prettiness and the effort she put into everything she attempted, somehow she was always overlooked in favour of Elena. It wasn't fair, but somehow that was the way of it. Everything happened to Elena—she was the Serena. Caroline was a Blair.

"So, are we getting cotton-candy or what?" Damon asked, with an ironic smirk, but Giulia smiled.

"Yes, please," she said, smiling. "Or a funnel-cake."

"Ooh, there's funnel-cake? You didn't mention that," Damon said, eyes lighting up, and Giulia grinned idly, linking an arm through Damon's when he offered, and remembered the time Damon had taken her to the fair. Someone had knocked her funnel-cake out of her hands, and when she'd gotten upset, Damon had compelled the person responsible into buying her another funnel-cake. It had been twice the size of the first, loaded with Cool Whip, Boston cream, chocolate syrup and powdered-sugar.

"I didn't think you'd be coming out tonight," Giulia said, glancing at Damon.

"Well, I'm planning on sticking around town for a little while, I thought you should introduce your favourite _cousin_ to all of your friends," Damon said. "I need to _blend_."

"You just want a drink at the Grill," Giulia said succinctly, and Damon's lips quirked.

"Perhaps I do. Doesn't mean I can't threaten to remove Tyler Lockwood's kneecaps for cuckolding you."

"I thought 'cuckolding' was a male preoccupation. And you're not removing anybody's kneecaps, Damon," Giulia said reprovingly, giving him a look, and Damon sighed.

"You're going to have me housebroken in a month," he said grumpily. Giulia gazed at him.

"Will you be here in a month?" she asked, rather sadly. She always loved Damon's visits; but they always ended too quickly, and usually, only when she woke up to realise Damon's room was shut up again. He vanished as silently as he appeared, leaving her emotions all over the place. Damon removed the arm he had offered her, to sling it casually around her shoulders instead, and Giulia leaned her head back against his arm, gazing at him sadly. Whatever he said, he'd broken promises before.

"I'm sure _Uncle_ _Stefan _has already bored you to _death_ with his theories on my being back in town," Damon said nonchalantly. "Fact is, not everything's about my baby-bro. He's really gotten self-absorbed in the last half-century." Giulia rolled her eyes subtly. Damon gazed back at her, his pale eyes glowing as they roved over her face, frowning thoughtfully. Growing sombre, Damon said softly, "What if I was to say I was here for a very special anniversary."

"I wouldn't know what that means," Giulia said softly. Damon gave one of his tiny, knowing little smirks.

"I could tell you. I don't know yet," Damon said, glancing at her. "Kinda like being the international man of mystery." Giulia scoffed gently, smirking.

"You're much more naughty-James Bond than Austin Powers, Damon," she smiled.

"I appreciate that!" Damon grinned. As they approached the square, Damon sighed, removing his arm from her shoulders. Giulia spied her friends, clustered around a picnic bench on the lawn; candles were already being lit, the paper lanterns she and Caroline had spent the week hanging glowing in the growing darkness. She could see Matt, chatting and laughing with Bonnie, and Caroline, in a little yellow sundress, flirting with some of the football-players while Matt gazed longingly at long-haired Elena.

"Gidget and the T-Birds are here, I see," Damon remarked, following her gaze, and Giulia smiled, rolling her eyes subtly. "I'm gonna go grab a funnel-cake before they all go. See you later."

"Thought you wanted me to introduce you?"

"Maybe later," Damon smiled, half-jogging backwards away from her. Giulia sighed, smiled, and tucked her hands into her jeans pockets as she made her way over to the others.

"Hey, there she is!" Matt grinned, and Giulia smiled warmly as she reached over for a hug; Matt hugged her waist, grinning, and Caroline bounced over, handing her a cup-cradled candle.

It had been Giulia's idea to turn all of the lights off in the town centre, letting them watch the comet by candlelight and the paper lanterns—she and Caroline had been watching _Tangled_ and become hopelessly infatuated with the lantern scene on the water. Caroline wanted a real-life Flynn Rider. Giulia would be happy with Pascal; they had teased Bonnie that she needed a 'familiar', if she was truly a witch. Giulia had only asked that Bonnie not sacrifice Firenze for any of her spells. They had put together the comet ceremony over _Phish_ _Food_ and tequila, their conversation becoming sillier the more Caroline had to drink, but it was one of the first good times they'd all had together since Elena's parents had died.

They had all come back from cheer-camp—Elena hadn't attended, understandably—and had a much-needed slumber-party full of bad music,_ Practical Magic_, mixing different cocktails, facials, pedicures and Sheila Bennett's borrowed Ouija-board.

Caroline had wanted to talk to Patrick Swayze.

This had all been before Giulia had realised Tyler was sleeping with Vicki: she had come home from a week at cheer-camp, noticed Tyler was acting strangely, and after the sleepover, she and the girls had gone to the Grill for fries and soda to help get over their hangovers, and Bonnie had brushed against Vicki. Bonnie didn't believe in her 'visions', but when she said she'd seen Vicki kissing Tyler, Giulia had believed her. She had confronted Tyler in private, dumped him in her first but absolute display of self-respect and assertiveness. Thanks to Caroline, the story had spread quickly: Tyler Lockwood was a dog, and Giuliette Salvatore was single.

Which meant that Giulia was watching the comet alone, not cradled in the arms of her boyfriend, her best-friend since they were on the same T-ball team and his sophisticated mom had taken pity on the motherless little ragamuffin who held her son's hand and told him off for being a brat to his mommy.

Her stomach ached dully as she smiled and accepted the candle Caroline offered her with a beaming smile; she hid her sadness, and when she glanced up, as someone offered their lit candle for Giulia to light hers by, she bit her lip. Tyler's face glowed in the candlelight, his fine lashes shadowing his dark eyes.

Giulia's candle wouldn't light. For some reason, the wick just wouldn't catch. After a minute, Giulia withdrew, licking her lips, and made to move away, deciding not to reflect on the irony of the spark having gone out between them; a slight shiver stole through her when Tyler said, "Wait!" and, despite herself, she did. She sighed, straightened her shoulders, but turned to him.

"Look, I know you hate me—"

"I don't hate you, Tyler," Giulia said sadly. "At the moment, I'm just too…too _sad_ to put the effort into hating you."

She gazed at Tyler, realising she had grown again; she had always been tall, now the height-difference she had never truly noticed seemed staggering to her. Yes, Tyler was a sixteen-year-old kid, but she'd never realised he was a little less than medium-height. Or that she was over it. She had outgrown Tyler. Yet another point of irony she didn't want to reflect on. She believed in Sheila Bennett's witchcraft, but _signs_ like these were just too peculiar—her outgrowing him, the spark going out between them…

Tyler worked his jaw, looking like he wanted to say something, lots of things, but Bonnie and Caroline were talking too quietly not to be eavesdropping and…and they had never done things in public. Tyler and his _feelings_ wasn't something they exactly delved into on a regular basis; the closest they came was lazing about under her sheets, communing through touch and talking quietly about all the things Tyler didn't want to be, but found it difficult to run from with his dad's expectations.

"I didn't mean for it to happen—"

Giulia glanced up, feeling her expression harden as she gazed sternly at him. Calmly, she said, "Yes, you did."

Tyler sighed heavily. "Okay. Maybe I did. I just hate how we ended things."

"What, with no breakup-sex?"

"Don't be like that." Giulia shook her head, starting to get irritated, the prickling feeling at the back of her neck of being watched alerting her to not just Bonnie and Caroline but Matt, and Stefan, keeping an eye on them. That Stefan was watching came as a surprise; he had approached to talk with Elena, who kept her eyes on the comet and seemed not to want to look him in the face.

She sighed and gazed at Tyler, feeling sad, her features heavy somehow, tired; she wanted to leave. But she'd promised Caroline…and this was the first time she and Tyler had talked since she had dumped him.

"I'm the wronged party here, Tyler," she pointed out gently, and a muscle ticked in his jaw as shame seemed to cloud his features. "I can be however I want to." She shot Tyler one _scathing_ look and left it at that. "You could have cheated with _anyone_. But her?"

A notorious drug-user, a train-wreck who spent most of her time ditching class and running away, not even attempting good grades and involvement in hopes of scholarships to get out of the life she believed she was stuck in, and would be due to her attitude. A bitchy, unpleasant girl who looked down her nose at anybody who had what she didn't and took it for granted that she had an amazing brother like Matt to constantly clear up her messes—sometimes literally, depending on how bad she had gotten at parties.

He had humiliated her, bad enough, but with Vicki Donovan?

She took her candle and wandered away, letting a stranger light the wick as Caroline strode over, wrapping an arm around her waist; they leaned back against a picnic-bench, gazing upwards.

"Guess he's starting to regret it," Caroline murmured. "I've noticed that—the second you start feeling okay with a breakup is when the guy starts realising how bad he screwed up."

"Yeah," Giulia sighed. She wouldn't say she was okay with the way Tyler had treated her, but she was coming to manage the lonely, crippling feeling that stole over her when she let herself slip and think about no longer being part of Tyler's life. Giulia wasn't a girl who _had_ to have a boyfriend, like Caroline; she had just always had Tyler, a best-friend she got to have sex with.

She wasn't clamouring to find herself a new boyfriend; she had spent an eighth of her lifetime with Tyler, and she was coming to realise she had indeed outgrown him. All the coaxing in the world hadn't gotten Tyler to stop being the world's biggest jackass; he was the school's worst bully, an antagonistic, arrogant prick. She just had to remember that, and any whim that leaned towards patching things up with Tyler was diminished.

But did she want Tyler to realise his loss? Absolutely.

The candlelit ceremony didn't last long; they hadn't intended it to. The attraction was the food, the band, the candles, gathering as a community, friends and family spending time together. If people looked up and noticed the comet, they quickly turned back to their conversations, and as the night blackened, the temperature dropping a few degrees with the pickup of a slight breeze, those with light cardigans or bare arms retreated to the restaurants and bars on the square; Giulia said she would join Caroline and Bonnie for some fries at the Grill, and they sat at a tall table with metal cones lined with wax-paper, filled with fresh, hand-cut fries, and little metal pots of dipping sauces.

"Hey, has anyone seen Vicki?"

"You're her stalker; you tell us," Tyler replied doggedly, a glower coming over his face.

"I can't find her!" Jeremy said, sounding anxious.

"She probably found somebody else to party with," Tyler smirked irreverently. "Sorry, pill-pusher; I guess you've been replaced."

"Be quiet, Tyler," Giulia said, scowling at her ex-boyfriend. There had been times—many of them—when she had been ashamed of Tyler for the way he treated other people. It had always fallen on her to soothe ruffled feathers and mend wounded egos. Due to his parents, Tyler had grown up with a superiority complex that went unrivalled by anyone else in town; his father was the mayor, an arrogant, alpha-douche; his mother was a socialite who looked down on everybody.

"What's with the pill-pusher?" Elena frowned at Tyler.

"Ask him."

"You're gonna do this right now?" Jeremy scowled.

"Are you _dealing_?" Elena blurted, wide-eyed and judgemental in a heartbeat.

"She's never gonna go for you." Giulia sighed, setting her drink down, and gave Tyler a glower he didn't notice, too intent on Jeremy.

"She already did!" Jeremy retorted heatedly, glaring back at Tyler. "Over, and over and over again!" Giulia glanced at Jeremy quickly, raising her eyebrows.

"Yeah, right," Tyler murmured dismissively, but Giulia saw the apprehension in his expression, half-knowing it was true; she saw Matt roll his eyes, probably not at all surprised that Vicki had slept with Elena's fifteen-year-old brother. He was _cute_, Giulia had always thought so, and he'd always been incredibly sweet, artistic.

"_You_ slept with Vicki Donovan?" Caroline said dubiously, eyes wide. "I mean—Vicki Donovan slept with _you_."

"There's no way!" Tyler blurted, but Giulia smiled to herself, picking up a fry and dunking it in the mixture of mayonnaise and spicy mustard, before popping it into her mouth, smiling subtly. _Looks like I wasn't the only one being cuckolded_.

"And I didn't even have to force her into it!" Jeremy declared fierily, glaring pointedly at Tyler; Matt stood up a little straighter, features sharpening on Tyler, who gazed back at Jeremy, something cooling his glare, making him glance subtly at Matt.

"What's he talking about, Ty?" Matt frowned.

"Nothing, man, just ignore him, he's a punk!" Tyler declared.

"Yes, Jeremy's the dick around here," Giulia said softly, finishing off her fry, and a tiny smile flickered at the corner of Jeremy's mouth as she winked at him. Tyler gave her a scathing look, which she ignored as she climbed off her stool, gripping Jeremy's shoulders familiarly, before saying, "You know she's probably out back; doesn't Henry in the kitchen supply her pot?"

"We'll check the bathrooms," Bonnie said.

"I'll check the square," Matt sighed, looking suddenly tired.

"I'll come with you," Jeremy said, and somehow, everyone seemed to start grabbing their jackets and purses to go and start an unofficial search-party. Vicki Donovan, notorious druggie and flake; somehow everyone seemed concerned about her, though she was by no means part of their social-circle, and only her relation to Matt made them tolerate her behaviour at parties. She was just as bad as Mrs Lockwood when it came to condescending people she thought badly of.

Giulia gazed at Tyler, as he slowly pulled his jacket on, looking distracted and introspective. When he caught her eye, he gave her a look. "What?"

"Is there nothing you won't do to make people ashamed to know you?" she asked quietly. Forcing Vicki Donovan—not that anybody would ever have thought there'd be any need to do that; Vicki had been open for business since she was fourteen, and Jeremy and Tyler were the latest in a string of boys she'd been associated with. There was a tally in the girls' bathroom. But forcing _any_ girl to have sex with him? That was something Giulia hadn't thought even Tyler would be cruel and idiotic enough to ever do.

Something slid into place as Tyler gave her a shameful, defensive glare, like pieces of her wooden puzzles. "Did you sleep with other girls?"

"What?"

"You heard what I said."

Tyler stared at her. "We're gonna do this here?"

"Answer the question."

"No. Alright, there. No, I did not sleep with any other girls. Only Vicki," Tyler said, a muscle working in his jaw as he glared at her. Giulia stared at him, examining his features for the predictable tells that appeared when he lied. She'd gotten good at deciphering her boyfriend's tells. "I'm telling the truth, Giulia—I didn't sleep with anyone but Vicki… I wouldn't do that to you."

"But screwing Vicki Donovan behind my back was okay?" Giulia asked, tugging her jacket on. She shook her head, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear, and sighed; she left the Grill, intent on finding Damon, or at least Stefan. Something told her Vicki's disappearance wasn't about her getting stoned behind the town hall. Giulia knew why Damon had chosen Vicki to maul in the woods—for the simple and irrefutable reason that Vicki had screwed Giulia's boyfriend. But there were other perks for Damon, too; he got to terrorise Stefan _through_ Vicki, the thought that his compulsion might not work due to his Bambi-diet, that Vicki would tell someone…

Stefan found Vicki. If anybody could, it was him; without coming out and telling Giulia, Stefan confirmed that Vicki had been with Damon. Her bandage had been removed. Later, when the others had moved on from Vicki's disappearance, and Matt had taken the stoned girl home, Stefan talked quietly with Giulia, telling her what had happened up on the rooftop. Damon had 'repaired' the compulsion Stefan had given Vicki to forget her attack in the woods; he'd tormented Stefan, tried to get him to drink Vicki's blood, and declared he was thinking about staying in Mystic Falls for a while.

With Tyler, and Vicki, and the threat that the two brothers' rivalry put on the town and her home, Giulia paid her part of the cheque and made her way to her Beetle. She hadn't seen Damon since they walked to the town square together, but that didn't surprise her; Damon liked to do his own thing, and wondering where he was or trying to keep tabs on him was futile. He was probably finding someone to feed on.

Giulia finally got to get away: the comet still streaked through the sky, burning as bright as the moon, and when she drove to the old quarry just north of town, her favourite place in the world, she climbed out of her Beetle and walked to the water's edge. Her family had owned this land since the 1840s. Of all the beautiful places in Mystic Falls, this was her favourite. There was nothing like the quarry with its moody romanticism, the subtle mist that lingered on the water on Fall evenings from the small waterfall, with its rocky little alcove behind, the ragged, dead-looking trees that created ghostly silhouettes in the shadows…

Pausing at the edge of the water, Giulia undressed; everything but the ring on her right middle-finger was piled neatly on the ground, with a beach-towel she had brought out from the trunk of her Beetle. The sky was clear, and, removed from the heart of town, the stars glittered more brightly than they would in any other part of Mystic Falls; the moon shone vibrantly, the comet slowly surging past.

Giulia dove into the water, feeling the subtle warmth of the water after the sun had heated it all summer; the warmth wouldn't last long, but Giulia swam in this little lake every day. She could access it by running through the woods from the Boarding House, through several different routes she liked to alternate on a whim. Giulia was sometimes an active girl; a run every day, culminating in a swim, cleared her head, and had lately helped her work off some of her frustrations. When she had to, she punished her body by swimming till her legs burned, to work off her need. The run, swimming like this, was her informal training regimen for her other sports; Mixed Martial Arts, ballroom-dancing, and baseball in the spring.

But the swimming…it made her feel…_alive_. To swim naked, under the stars, especially when it was cold. She did several lengths of the little lake, then swam back to the centre, turning to her back, and focusing on floating. Spread like a starfish, she floated in the water, gazing upwards at the stars. Floating, the water buoying her, the gentle ripple from the falls, the mist touching her exposed skin, cooling her, she gazed up, watching the comet. She felt suspended between the two, the water and the sky, no longer anchored but floating in space; it was transcendent.

She gazed up, floating, and watched the comet, thinking of nothing but her mother. The water helped her purge, shedding everything unimportant. She watched the comet, and thought of her mother.

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**A.N.**: Please review!


	5. STDs, a History Paper and Proust

**A.N.**: I've been observing Elena's behaviour, and I've noticed that she can actually be a bit of a cow when she's feeling wronged. 'Feeling', e.g. when she needs to be the victim and pout. Ugh. I'd have absolutely no patience for her if I was part of the VD universe! Of course, if I was part of the VD universe I'd spend most of my time petting Elijah's pretty hair…

Oh, I just watched episode six: it's been a boring season so far, the only reason I'm watching now is for Elijah's return, but it's so _dull_, this triangle between Stefan, Elena and Damon; she doesn't deserve to have Damon, and she's messing with Stefan. The story doesn't work with Elena as a vampire, it's just as Katherine says, 'It was only worth it when _you_ were worth it'. Elena calls herself a 'good girl' who has become 'darker' through becoming a vampire (well, duh!) but honestly, was she that 'light' to begin with? She was always pouting, introspecting, judging, fluttering her eyelashes…slapping Damon. _Knifing_ my future husband. Twice.

* * *

**Drunken Binges, Funerals and Formals**

_05_

_STDs, a History Paper and Proust_

* * *

_September 6, Monday, 1:19 p.m._

_Mystic Falls' free Health Clinic_

Favourite song of the moment: If You Want Blood (You Got It), AC/DC.

Measure of inebriation: Unfortunately and irritatingly sober.

Level of TL hatred: Increasing.

_Vicki D gets a free pass on homework due to her attack; I get to pee in a cup to check for STDs because of Tyler screwing her._

_I'm so glad I always said No whenever Tyler didn't have a condom. I wear the patch, but that doesn't mean it's foolproof, or that I… Well, I guess it's good I always took precautions, given Tyler betrayed my trust._

_I just wish I didn't have to do this stuff by myself._

_And by 'myself', I mean, I wish it wasn't Damon sitting beside me reading Women's Health magazine. He finds hilarity in my situation; waiting to be told whether I've contracted some flesh-eating virus through Tyler's sex-life with the Petri-dish of Mystic Falls, Vicki D; you'll find everything nasty there._

_I wonder whether Damon's blood would heal me of any STD Tyler's given me through Vicki? He says probably. Hopefully we won't have to test the theory. They've called my name; it's my turn to face the music._

_The doctor applauded my insistence on taking precautions, and gave me a handful of free condoms. I'd told her about Tyler and Vicki, so she knew I don't need them; but Damon reminded me that I like to get into the backseats of cars with other boys. I reminded him that I didn't ever take my jeans off with any of those boys._

_Then Damon suggested we make glitter water-balloons with the condoms and attack Stefan, so that, I quote, 'Add red hair and a piano, we've got our own broody, sexually-frustrated Edward Cullen'._

_That made me laugh; as much as it horrified me that Damon had even read that insult to literature._

_Anyway, pinging condoms at Stefan while he did his homework made me wonder whether vampires need to use them. Since they can't procreate, the chief reason to use contraception is removed; but can vampires even get STDs? Damon says no; bastards._

_They can't contract diseases, or have children, but vampires love to try!_

_Stefan, Damon and I got into an argument about the nature of vampirism in literature; Bram Stoker, Anne Rice…the other one I won't deface my diary by naming. I've never read them; I adore Interview With the Vampire. It's a shame Rice found religion. Stefan's a fan of Stoker; I find Dracula dull. Damon loves Anne Rice, except Queen of the Damned, which wasn't the best book in the Lestat trilogy._

_At least this year's coursework load for English Lit is excellent: Twelfth Night and the Scottish play; Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde; Catcher in the Rye and The Shining._

_Speaking of the Scottish play, with its witches, Bonnie's being weird about Stefan; Elena said she accidentally touched him and got one of her witchy vibes. An imprint, I guess you could call it. Anyway, she got a 'bad feeling' when she touched Stefan, and I'm guessing it probably has something to do with him being a vampire. She couldn't possibly know that's what she felt; but I'd bet her grandmother, Sheila, would know how to interpret the imprint. I read in one of Stefan's journals…'69, I think? He listened to Sheila Bennett speak at a rally protesting against Vietnam._

_I would love to document Stefan's life—actually, his and Damon's: Stefan keeps journals by the month, but Damon isn't into introspection, he's not the journaling type. And even Stefan doesn't write much about the people in his life, the girls he's met, etc., he's all about introspection. But he and Damon have experienced every historical event since the 1850s. I'd love to know firsthand accounts of what they were doing when different events occurred, how their vampiric nature affected their reactions._

_What did vampires feel when Pearl Harbour occurred? The JFK assassination? What was Damon's reaction, as a Confederate soldier, to the assassination of Lincoln, the election of Obama?_

_How many girlfriends have they both had since Katherine? What were their names, their stories? What did they look like? What were the standards of beauty through the decades, the fashions? How did makeup develop? I sound like Caroline now._

_Damon thinks it's a good idea—me documenting his life. If he's learned anything from my childhood, it's that there shouldn't be documentation of just one side of the story; he had to tell me his side to the Salvatore-Pierce-Salvatore ménage à trois because I'd read Stefan's journals._

_I'll call it The Evolution of Damon._

_With pictures._

[6:23 p.m.]

_To keep my mind off of the impending STD-test results, Damon's giving me a cooking lesson tonight. He knows I watch out for Hairy Biker and Jamie Oliver cookbooks, and after watching JO make Venetian risotto, Damon's decided we're having cherry-tomato-and-basil risotto for dinner._

_Stefan's impressed that I keep a vegetable-garden out back; his family had servants to do everything, growing vegetables, cooking, etc., so as Toad says, he'd never washed a dinner-plate in his life._

_We used late cherry-tomatoes on the vine from the greenhouse; I'll write the recipe in here, and I took photos of the finished dish. It was…really nice, to have company in the kitchen. Usually I cook alone, or Daddy does, or we go to the Grill and sit in Daddy's favourite booth, but we never have company over._

_It's funny when the boys eat garlic. It reminded me of being eight years old, challenging Damon to a garlic-eating contest after discovering stereotypes about vampires' weaknesses, i.e. stakes, mirrors, sunlight, garlic. I'd wondered whether he'd do it, eat the garlic. Of course, then Damon challenged me to eat something I didn't like; I've loved artichokes ever since. He says we can make artichoke risotto next time._

_Homework now; I'm waiting on Mr Tanner giving back our first essays of the semester tomorrow. We've already got another one due in less than a fortnight…_

_The boys have their first game this Friday; I doubt Elena's gonna show to cheer with us, she's lost all interest in past hobbies, but she just seems stuck, she hasn't gotten into anything new. Except Stefan, and even then, she's being flaky. Can't decide whether she should go for it or even put in the effort._

_I have to make some cookies or something for Matt for Friday. I'm his…well, in Friday Night Lights, it'd seem as if I were a rally-girl, providing sweets, but we don't do rally-girls at MFHS, so the cheerleaders bring cookies and things on Game Day. I felt weird asking Elena what Matt liked, dessert-wise; she was Matt's designated cheerleader all last season. Just like I was Tyler's._

_My suggestion to Tiki to give Tyler rat poison didn't go over so well. _

_At least I never have to make him peanut-butter cookies again._

_I hate peanut-butter cookies. Amaretto all the way. Or those cherry-thumbprint ones Daddy and I make at Christmas from my mother's recipes._

_Another plus in the Pro Breakup column. No more peanut-butter cookies!_

_Ciao,_

_Giulia_

* * *

_September 7, 4:49 p.m._

_Mystic Falls; the library. Home from school after cheerleading practice and detention. _

_Elena had trouble keeping up with the routine during practice; I think it's a little naïve of her to think that getting back into things she used to love will make everything better. She's changed; she needs to move on to new things. I suggested taking a creative-writing class at the community centre. Damon thinks we should start our own Bunko circuit._

_I think he's watched The Help too many times; I got the image of Hilly and the girls playing bridge when Damon suggested starting a Bunko group._

_***Got the results from the clinic after school. Clean! Thank god.**_

Favourite song of the moment: Heroes, Bowie.

Measure of inebriation: Sober.

Level of TL hatred: Kind of depressed today, not hateful.

_Supposed to be doing homework, but I needed to take a break after doing my math. 169 years old, Damon has never once found a use for his own education in mathematics, so why should I have to torture myself by sitting through Algebra 2?_

_Daddy's going to help me pick a topic for my next History paper; I got my first History paper back, and my grade and Mr Tanner's comments really upset me._

_Last year I wrote about: sexism and politics in the Salem Witch Trials; the Underground Railroad in Mystic Falls; the occupation of Guernsey during WWII; the Suffragettes of Mystic Falls (Damon helped me with that one)._

_My first paper this year was on the history of Mystic Falls cuisine._

_Dad told me I should talk to Mrs Lockwood about my paper when I thought of the topic, because she'd know best, as Head of the Historical Society, where I could find relevant sources: when I finished the paper, I gave Mrs Lockwood a copy, she wanted to read it._

_Mrs Lockwood wants me to present my paper on the cuisine of Mystic Falls to the Historical Society; I used Founding Family recipes from the 1850s and 1860s, through to the 1900s and the effect the Civil War, WWI, the Depression and WWII had on food, to chart domestic progress and the trends, lifestyle and extravagance of early Mystic Falls society. She says it's a unique perspective on the history of the town, and she wants it as part of the Salvatore Family display for the Heritage Project. I used a lot of Great-Great…Great-Grandmother Paola Salvatore's recipes from the early 1800s—Damon and Stefan's great-grandmother, who brought them over from Florence, and passed them on to her children, who had to adjust them with local produce._

_The Salvatore family were famous in the area for their desserts, especially when Damon and Stefan's grandfather married a Frenchwoman, Gisèle-Aurélie, who also brought recipes into the marriage. The Salvatores set the standard for fashionable desserts._

_I read a lot of letters and diaries for my paper, written by early female Founders; Honoria Fell the diarist, Grace Gilbert, Caroline Forbes (the First!)—they all describe Damon's mother's menus as the most fashionable and flavoursome in the town._

_Tanner gave me a B- on the paper. _

_**B-**_

_He's a dick. I worked really hard on that paper; and I really enjoyed writing it. Then he turns around and says there's "no historical significance to recipes", all condescending and smug and hateful. Then we got into an argument, because of course there is historical significance, he's just too obtuse and ignorant about the wider cultural significance of 'history' as we remember it to realise that things like recipes are integral to the way our culture has evolved. The way our culture is documented._

_The bastard put me in detention._

_Detention!_

_I'm the only kid in his classes who actually loves history, he just teaches in a way that makes me want to gouge his eyes out. He's hateful, mean; he crushes people's confidence and gloats about it. He's a bully._

_Fucking detention._

_Oh. Damon is dating Caroline. That screams of nothing but trouble. She really enjoyed rubbing it in Elena's face that she got the 'other brother', and Caroline rarely gets to gloat. But I'm worried about her. She came to cheerleading practice, late (thoroughly unlike Caroline) and wearing a new scarf around her neck. All she said was that she couldn't take it off, but she didn't know why._

_Damon told me about this, a few times. If he's trying to keep a low profile, he'll find someone very tasty (a woman, of course) and compel her to be his girlfriend; the scarf covers the bite-mark, but as long as he can snack on her any time he's hungry, he doesn't have to go out killing people all over town, attracting attention. It's better for everyone if he can tap a vein any time he needs to, and compel the blood-donor to forget. Better for everyone, except Caroline._

_Because she'll get hooked on Damon, the attention he gives her, and even if she'll be compelled to forget, I'll know what he's doing to her, and even though I know it's the lesser of two evils, Caroline's my best friend in the entire world, she has been since first grade when Vicki tripped her in the playground on purpose and I punched her for making Caroline cry. I was a brawler as a baby._

_Damon taught me how to throw a punch when I was six._

_I was the tough girl in sloppy braids who became pretty Caroline's protector._

_How do I protect Caroline against a supernaturally-strong vampire? One with a volatile personality?_

_I don't know why Damon picked Caroline. Because she's my best-friend, or because she's close to Elena? The growing bone of contention between Stefan and Damon; Elena. It's all about her; the reason Stefan moved back, trying to play high-school._

_Damon still hasn't told me why he's back in Mystic Falls, but he was here in May, he told me about meeting Elena and compelling her to forget, and I'll bet he's here because of something to do with Katherine. If it's all about Elena for Stefan now, for a hundred and forty-five years it has been all about Katherine for Damon. _

_He still loves her._

_From what Damon's told me about her, I'm not sure Katherine deserves his love._

_And Elena looks exactly like her; I think Damon likes to be around Elena because of that resemblance. He misses Katherine._

_I've got to help Mrs Lockwood with the setup for the Heritage Project soon; I have to find the rest of the things Daddy and I are going to loan the Historical Society. Caroline and I have to start thinking about school fundraisers. _

_We've already thought of a pancake-breakfast to raise funds for the band's trip to Disney World; a sponsored dance-a-thon for our class trip to New York next semester (inspired by Pretty Little Liars, by way of the Gilmore Girls' 24-hour dance competition); a bake-sale for the cheerleaders' coach-rental for the Classic. Oh; and we want to do a Boy Toy Auction._

_We don't know for what, yet, but if we get enough martinis in Mrs Lockwood she'll probably bid more than most people's mortgages._

_Caroline wants to start raising funds for homecoming. A kissing-booth has been suggested. Another bake-sale. Perhaps people can sponsor Vicki Donovan to stay sober._

_I suggested we do a sponsored run. 25% of the funds raised could go to a local charity—the home I volunteer at, or an endorsement to the children's section in the public library, it's really getting drab in there. I talked to Mrs Lockwood about it; and I thought if we went to the elementary-school for ideas for a mural to be painted in the kids' section of the public-library it would increase interest in it… Anyway…_

_We've got Halloween soon; my favourite holiday. I've already been thinking about my costume, Caroline will be proud. It's a shame Faith graduated, she always had the best Halloween parties, but this year Caroline and I are both on the decorating committee for the Haunted House at school. The dance is the Friday after Halloween; it's still costume, as Caroline wanted another excuse to wear hers._

_And Caroline's already thinking about Homecoming; the game is on November 7 this year. We're going to do the dance the Saturday after the game. And because tickets will be sold in October, Breast Cancer Awareness Month, we budgeted that a dollar from each ticket sold can be donated to the local hospice. We're also doing a Pink Day; we all have to wear pink to raise awareness for Breast Cancer._

_Which reminds me; I'm doing the sponsored run with Dana for her mother. She's relapsed._

_Caroline wants the Marie Antoinette movie as inspiration for Homecoming; decadent, elegant. Over-the-top. We've got an old Wildfox campaign ad as inspiration; nouveau-Versailles. Big hair, red lips, feathers, chandeliers. But in the school gym? We'll figure it out; I always manage to, so Caroline isn't disappointed. She works so hard, I hate seeing her upset._

_The 70s Dance last year was pretty awful; mostly because nobody had ever watched Dazed and Confused. Caroline and I get to choose—well, Caroline gets to choose, I get to influence her decision—which decades we choose as themes this year._

_With my infatuation with Don Draper and The Boat That Rocked, we're going 60s for one of them. We'll skip the 70s; but Caroline and I were thinking of a 50s theme for the sponsored dance-a-thon. Classy and fun. Grease; Dirty Dancing, Havana Nights. And I can ask Stefan and Damon for true 50s music etc. for the DJ._

_Daddy said we could have dinner at the Grill tomorrow; I think Stefan is having dinner at Elena's house. _

_I'm feeling better now than I did when I started writing. It's a quarter past six now; the days are getting darker earlier, so I think I'll go for a run and a swim, before dinner; and at 9 pm I've got dance practice. The Founders' Society has their annual dance competition in the spring, and I'm thinking about entering this year. The Viennese Waltz and/or the Argentine Tango. I love them both exquisitely._

_And maybe Damon can compel the judges? I wrote that because he's reading over my shoulder. He says the Tango. Always go with the sexier choice; it'll ruffle the stuffy Society's feathers!_

_Just as long as Mayor Lockwood isn't one of the judges. Pervy jerk._

_Going for a run/swim now; Damon's doing dinner for me! Daddy's out meeting with the Founders' Council, so it's just us. It might be a good idea to find out what the Council knows, if they suspect anything from that couple, the campers, Vicki's attack._

_Damon says I should go for a run now; he'll have dinner ready for when I get back. I like it when he's home._

_He's got a date later with Caroline._

_Jeez._

_Love,_

_Giulia_

* * *

"I thought you had a date tonight," Giulia said, perching on the edge of the bathtub, piled high with bubbles; Damon was soaking beneath, flicking water with his toes, looking marvellously irreverent with his eyes at half-mast, a gentle flush of colour in his cheeks from the heat of the water.

Her muscles tired but singing, Giulia had returned from dance with her toes blistering a little; she had showered, and changed into a lazy t-shirt and a pair of _Abercrombie_ sweat-pants cut off just below the knee, carrying a book into Damon's bedroom to talk, only to find him soaking in his beautiful bathroom.

"I did," Damon smirked languidly. "Caroline's trigger-happy mommy the Sheriff came home, and she pushed me out the window."

"Huh," Giulia flicked her eyebrows expressively.

"How was dance?"

"A lot of work," Giulia mumbled, rubbing her face with her hands, yawning. She was _tired_. School hadn't been back in session for a month, she was already tired of the 8-to-2:30 drain. It messed her up for things she enjoyed outside of school; dance, her MMA competitions, hanging out. With the evenings threatening to start darkening earlier, she knew it wouldn't be long before she'd want to be in bed by 5 p.m.

"Hey," Damon said, and Giulia glanced up. "Why didn't you tell me you got detention?" Giulia stared at him. "Caroline told me."

"Oh… I got into an argument with Mr Tanner, my History teacher."

"Why?"

"He gave me a B- on my paper," Giulia mumbled sadly. Damon frowned.

"Was it a bad paper?"

"No, it was a really good one."

"Go get it for me." Giulia puckered her lips thoughtfully, but did as he asked, and she retrieved a spare copy she had printed off. Drying off his hands, Damon read through the paper, while Giulia sat, reading.

"This is a great paper," Damon declared, when he'd finished; he stared at Giulia. "He gave you a B-?"

"He's a bully. He never gives out grades people deserve," Giulia sighed.

"Dick," Damon remarked eloquently. Giulia yawned, nodding, and took the paper back. "I've been thinking. You should learn to _nap_."

"Nap? Why?" Giulia smiled tiredly.

"Because, you're tired. It's good for you," Damon said. "Hey, grab me a drink?"

"Get it yourself!"

"I'll be all naked, and all drippy. Come on," Damon said, pouting, and Giulia sighed, retreating to his dresser, which featured a few decanters of his favourite liquor. She poured some scotch into a tumbler and yawned as she sat down, leaning against the side of the bath, and handed Damon his drink. "What's the book?"

"Mm, _Swann's Way_," Giulia said, glancing up at Damon, who gave her an impressed look.

"You're onto _Proust_, now? Read to me," he said, leaning his head back, gazing at her with lazy eyes.

"'For a long time, I went to bed early…'"

* * *

**A.N.**: I like the image of Giulia sitting beside the bath, reading to Damon while he has a drink. _Companionable_.

Anybody notice both Petrova doppelgangers had a child out of wedlock before their sacrifice/transition? So to complete the role of the modern doppelganger, Elena has to also have a baby…therefore she has to become human again so she can put out with some random human…and then become a vampire again, probably! That would make everyone happy; Elena wants to be a mum, Klaus wants the bloodline to continue so he can drain more future doppelgangers.

I think it's sad vampires can't have kids in the VD universe; in my favourite series, Immortals After Dark, vampires can have children after their Brides reawaken their un-dead bodies.

I'll get into my theories on the deterioration of the vampires due to a breakdown of the family unit within this story! I think the lack of family explains a lot about the VD plots!


	6. The Necklace, But No Leo Di Caprio

**A.N.**: Anyone else disappointed by the other Originals? Absolutely no character development whatsoever; you'd think a thousand years would be enough time for them to grow up!

Rebekah I think needs a real _friend_, not someone who'll manipulate her (or stick a silver dagger in her heart). She also kind of needs someone who'll put her in her place…**perhaps Hayley**? I'm thinking of bringing her in when Tyler and Jules return to Mystic Falls after Mrs Lockwood's 'accident'. If I was sticking to canon, I'd think that a Kol/Hayley ship might work, since he really needs someone to make him come to heel. However, I don't like his personality at all, he's just…distasteful.

So I've decided, I'm going to **create new Mikaelson siblings**, giving them more back-story, developed personalities and the chance for personal-growth within the story. I'd also like to give Elijah a sibling he's really _close_ with, like, best-friends, because he seems to be quite _alone_ in the family unit, the only moral one amongst self-absorbed sociopaths.

Therefore, I shall get rid of Finn and Kol, in favour of either two or three original characters. Klaus and a similarly uncaring brother, against Elijah, new head of the family, who has taken the other two siblings under his wing to help them acclimate to the 21st century, and also gives Rebekah a true _home_.

I realised Elijah had a bit of an **Aragorn **thing going on in 1114 A.D.! No wonder I loved that brief glimpse of him in the flashback of 'The Five' so much!

* * *

**Drunken Binges, Funerals and Formals**

_06_

_The Necklace, But No Leo Di Caprio_

* * *

_September 9. 11:03 p.m._

_My bedroom. Firenze is curled up in my lap cuddling Cherry Jam, purring._

_Dad and I had a quiet night, like normal. I mean, like before Damon and Stefan came back. Steak for dinner, with dauphinoise potatoes and fresh French beans. Gorgeous._

_We played Scrabble – our words [Attached]. I won. And Daddy gave me some scotch while we sat in the library, reading; he's working on Tolstoy; I'm alternating Swann's Way with Wodehouse to keep things light._

_After Scrabble, reading for a little while, we got the old Brigadeiro recipe out and sat in the kitchen eating it out of the saucepan. Brigadeiro and scotch; is there any divinity in the world such as that combination?_

_We enjoyed a quiet night because Stefan was at a dinner-party with Elena and Bonnie, Elena's way of trying to assuage Bonnie's fears over Stefan. That 'vibe' Bonnie got from Stefan is still bugging her, apparently. And Damon used Caroline to get through Elena's front-door…_

_Stefan and I talked when he got home. He needed a favour, but he also wanted to… I don't know. Perhaps he realises we're not as close as I am with Damon. Maybe that bugs him? That not everyone thinks him the 'golden boy'? I know people considered him such as a human._

_And as for trying out for the football team, dating Elena, I don't know; it seems only myself and Damon know what Stefan is truly capable of, what'll be unleashed if he slips up. Then we'll see which brother is labelled 'dark' and 'dangerous'._

_Apparently Damon wanted into the Gilbert house for the sole purpose of driving a wedge between Stefan and Elena; me telling Elena about Katherine dating the two of them and manipulating one against the other seems to have done some good, though. At least neither brother can claim they were the wronged party; I suspect Damon would try to put the blame on Stefan. Considering uncompelled Damon was betrayed by Katherine when she turned Stefan too._

_Stefan wanted vervain. He knows I wear it; he wants to know if he can borrow some for Elena. I said I'd get what he wanted; since Stefan can't handle it without being burned, I had to prepare it for him. I crushed a dried blossom in an old pestle and mortar, then put it inside this ancient-looking pendant Stefan said he picked up in the 20s. Chicago._

_His last Ripper phase; I recognised the design of the pendant from one of his journals from the 20s, he described finding it in a speakeasy that had been fired on by police using wooden bullets._

_Who knew 1920s Chicago might've had a Founders' Council working behind the scenes to keep the city-folk from the monsters that go bump in the night!_

_The fact that Stefan had been in Chicago in the 1920s was astounding to me! He chuckled when I suggested we should watch the movie. Yes. Stefan can chuckle!_

_In his journals, Stefan wrote that finding the pendant had been like providence, guiding him towards 'sobriety'. To get back on track, to start kicking the human habit! It took his friend Alexia and about thirty years' effort to get 'sober' again._

_That pendant symbolises hope for him. Hope, strength—resistance. Morality._

_He's held onto it for ninety years; and after a little less than a month, he's already willing to give it to Elena?_

_And she's not even compelling him._

_He must be whipped._

_Stefan's going to give Elena the necklace the night of the game. For 'good luck'. He asked me how I thought Elena would react to him giving her jewellery already. I quoted Roseanne; "Jewellery says, 'Here I am; I plan to smother you…'"_

_Guess he's going to give it to her anyway._

_I don't know how I can give Caroline vervain without Damon realising it too late. I'll have to have a talk with him about her. I'll have to think of something—unless I slip it into her food; Caroline changes her clothing/accessories daily so it'd be difficult to order her to wear something with vervain in it. Unless by some chance I got Damon to compel her to wear it and never take it off. I'll have to think of something._

_Until then I'll just have to wager on Damon's love for me that he won't hurt Caroline; he knows she's my best-friend. Since we were seven._

_Love,_

_Giulia_

* * *

_September 11, Friday. 12:30 p.m._

_MFHS Cafeteria._

_Depressing day today; the anniversary of 9/11. _

_We're having a moment of silence in the cafeteria for the people who died during the attack._

_I just gave Matt his pre-game sweets. Turns out he's a fan of the marshmallow, so I gave him homemade vanilla marshmallows. You should have seen the look on his face! I used my mother's recipe._

_Damon helped me; we made boozy Amaretto ones to test out our ability to follow the recipe. It's so lovely to have someone laugh in the kitchen with me; we listened to Stefan's old records—I found his 60s stash last year, and stole them! Lots of Bowie, Beatles, The Kinks etc., which surprised me. He seems more like a Coldplay fan. Broody._

_Damon calls him self-loathing and whiny!_

—_anyway, we listened to records, made Thai green curry (it was amazing and made my knees weak when I tasted it, so spicy and flavourful) and just talked. About lots of stuff—Stefan joining the football-team! Me being a cheerleader, not the most obvious of hobbies for me. Tyler. The Historical Society's Heritage Project._

_Damon's helping refine all the details for the things in the Salvatore display, to make sure I have the names and dates right. He wants to go to the Founders' Party; it's on September 17. He says he needs something from his mother's old writing-box I already sent over to Mrs Lockwood._

_Elena asked me what sweets Stefan likes; even though she quit the squad, she says she wants to know more about him. Turns out I don't really know much about my 'cousin'. So I've been trying to remedy that; I know I always favoured Damon, but with Stefan being here in Mystic Falls, possibly for a while, depending on how well he takes to high-school, I should put in the effort to get to know him._

_Daddy and I are going to have dinner together at the Grill tomorrow; I'm already thinking I'll have the spinach-and-mushroom dip as an appetiser before the huge shell pasta stuffed with Bolognese, baked with béchamel. Hungry._

_I went to talk to Jeremy Gilbert in the stoners' pit before I came to the cafeteria; he's depressed that Vicki D. only slept with him for 'pharmaceuticals', the pills prescribed to Elena for her pain after the accident. And, sharing the last of his joint, I am now eating my way through a tray of chilli-cheese nachos._

_His stash is really good._

_I asked Jeremy whether he's going to get back into his artwork, because there's a class at the community centre I thought he might like. I think he just liked it that I came to talk to him; that he had someone to talk to. He's become a bit of a loner since his parents died, which is understandable, but I don't think Elena's doing what she should to help him._

_She's always riding him about smoking up, but how is his behaviour different from every other moody, misunderstood 15-year-old? She's never encouraged him to get back to drawing, to join a school club and make some friends. I think that'll help him start to move on much more than constant nagging and belittling about his 'loser' habit, and threats to send him to a shrink or commit him to a rehab facility. That won't help; he'll come out hating her even more._

_There must be some lingering resentment, that it was while picking up Elena that his parents were killed; that Elena survived and they didn't._

_I'll write more later; it's Game Night. We get to witness the Timberwolves' first defeat of the season. Although, apparently, Tanner's starting Stefan on offence. Whatever that means. Hope he doesn't paralyse anybody on the opposing team; I made him watch the pilot of Friday Night Lights as a reminder to be gentle._

_Bonnie says she's been obsessed with numbers the last few days: 8; 14; 22._

_I wonder what they mean_.

_Hope she's not planning to fly any time soon; I've seen Lost._

_Giulia_

_PS: There's supposed to be a party at Travis' house tonight after the game. If we win, it'll be celebratory; when we lose, it'll be consolatory. Either way, hopefully I'll get to take the edge off. I've been horny all week._

* * *

Building the bonfire and putting up banners had been the Student Council's job; Giulia had taken an inordinate amount of pleasure putting together the scarecrow to burn on top of the bonfire; he looked suspiciously like Tyler. She and Caroline had spent the better part of the previous week painting banners—"Go Timberwolves!" "All The Way to State!" "Tear 'Em To Shreds!" The last, considering the 'animal attacks' the last few weeks, was highly ironic. They had sold out of advanced tickets, and the school merchandise being sold during the game from the concessions-stand had been delivered so they could put a display out by the ticket-booth.

Giulia's dad, never one for socialising very much, nevertheless took part in PTA stuff at the high-school, and he had signed up to help in the snack-shack. Giulia wondered whether he would slip vervain into the soda-fountain.

She had arrived at school this morning, with Stefan in a shirt and tie—mandatory for all athletes on game-days—herself bearing homemade marshmallows, and wearing her cheerleading uniform. Rich burgundy-red with black trim and white details, Damon had smirked, dubbed her 'jaunty' in the sleek, fitted top, and sent her on her way with a promise to see her tumble in the evening.

Which meant that the Salvatore family would be at the game. Zach Salvatore, his daughter Giulia, and her two male cousins, mysterious Damon and his kid brother Stefan, who was being gossiped about again not just because he was the 'hot new kid' but because he was the newest addition to the Timberwolves team and, apparently, a very hot prospect on the field. So said Caroline, who had heard it from Matt that Stefan was actually an incredibly good player.

Giulia just hoped that nobody got hurt while playing—either by Stefan, or by another player; because if Stefan smelt blood, there might be a problem. Especially if his heart was racing…kind of like _Teen Wolf_, his vampiric traits were heightened by adrenaline, when it was easiest to spot the difference between human and supernatural.

Attending pep-rallies wasn't how Giulia would have personally chosen to spend her Friday-night; but since seventh-grade, she, Caroline, Bonnie and Elena had been cheerleaders. She had only gone to the tryouts at their old middle-school because Caroline had dragged her along; then it kind of became their thing. They all had different interests outside their friendship, and their personalities were so diverse; cheerleading was the one thing all of them had done together, as a group. The one solid thing each of them shared.

Elena had quit: Caroline was now co-captain of the varsity squad, a cut above them: Bonnie was distracted by her premonitions. Giulia thought she might give it this season and then see where she stood for next year. It looked good to be part of the squad; on paper, she was one of those irritatingly perfect-seeming girls who had everything; she was an Honour Roll student (thanks to Mr Tanner, not on the Principal's List for consecutive 3.8-4.0 GPAs), on the cheerleading squad, part of the Student Council, who played baseball with the boys during the Spring semester, practiced Mixed Martial Arts and did ballroom-dancing, volunteered with the elderly and children during her free time, was part of the town's numerous junior-committees and programmes, and was a well-read, articulate, talented girl.

That was her on paper; and as Damon had teased at breakfast, it all seemed so very 'Rah, rah, go Team!'

Which he knew wasn't her personality at all. Giulia absolutely wasn't the peppy type. She had always been kind of…_sorrowful_; it was always bubbly Caroline who got her to smile, to giggle like a girl and enjoy pedicures and _Ben & Jerry's_ with copious amounts of truly awful television.

She would prefer to be home right now watching reruns of _Roseanne_ or reading Wodehouse, but Caroline loved being co-captain of the cheerleading squad, and with Elena flaking out before her first week back in uniform had ended, Giulia didn't want things to get messed up for Caroline and the other girls.

"So, I gave it to her," Stefan said, smiling gently as he sidled over to her. Giulia glanced up, smiling.

"She liked it?"

"Well, she said it was beautiful. And Elena doesn't seem to say anything she doesn't believe is true," Stefan said, smiling. "I didn't know she'd quit the squad."

"Well, she was never truly back on it; she only showed up to one practice," Giulia said.

"She said you'd encouraged her to try something new," Stefan said. "A creative-writing class?"

"I saw it on a list of courses at the community-centre when I signed up for my drawing-classes," Giulia said, dusting her hands off after pinning the last sleeve in place in the artistic display of school merchandise.

"Hey, this looks good," Stefan smiled, eyeing the black poster-board pinned with t-shirts, a sweatshirt, flags, bumper-stickers, pompoms, seat-cushions, a folded blanket and sweats.

"Can I interest you in any Timberwolves merchandise?" Giulia smiled.

"Mm, no, thank you," Stefan smiled. "I still have the jacket your grandpa Noah wore as a letterman when _he_ went to Mystic Falls High."

"_Really_?"

"You didn't know your grandpa was a jock?"

"I thought all Salvatores were introverted bookworms," Giulia smiled sadly.

"They are," Stefan winked. "But Noah liked the look of one of the cheerleaders and wanted to impress her."

Giulia glanced up, wide-eyed and smiling, curious. "You mean Grandma Doll?"

"Pretty Dorothy," Stefan smiled at her, his eyes twinkling. Giulia stared at Stefan, shaking her head slightly. Stefan could remember vividly her grandfather when he was in high-school, trying to impress his future wife. Dorothy, 'Doll', the prettiest girl in the world, according to her dad.

"She was a cheerleader, too?" Giulia said softly, gazing at Stefan. She didn't know much about her grandparents—why would she? They had died within a year of each other, when she was three.

"Yep," Stefan smiled. "'Course, her uniform was a lot _longer_."

"And poodle-skirted," Giulia smiled; her grandparents had been in high-school in the 50s. Stefan had posed as her grandpa Noah's cousin in '53, when her great-grandfather, Joseph, had been killed by Damon.

"That it was," Stefan smiled. "You know, it's probably still boxed up in the attic."

"Really?"

"Oh, yeah," Stefan smiled. "You know our family are pack-rats. And Doll _loved_ clothes; you might find something in there you like."

"I don't think I'd be able to fit into them," Giulia said, picking up the little plastic tub of pushpins.

"Doll had your figure," Stefan smiled. "You might be surprised."

"I'll have to look through the attic," Giulia said.

"You should; there should be a tonne of stuff, back to the 1900s. Zachariah's wife was very fashionable, if you like _Titanic_." Giulia chuckled.

"I've never actually sat through _Titanic_," she admitted, and Stefan raised his thick eyebrows.

"Oh, really?"

"Chick-flicks have a notoriously soporific effect on me," Giulia said, and Stefan grinned. "Just ask Caroline; every time she puts _The Notebook_ on, I fall asleep."

"Understandable," Stefan smiled. "You are the girl who sat through _Silence of the Lambs_ at five years old without blinking."

"And _Psycho_."

"I think forcing you to watch that had the completely adverse effect to the one Damon intended," Stefan smirked.

"He screamed like a little tiny girl," Giulia smirked; as a five-year-old, she had snuck into the bathroom and jumped out at Damon with a knife, re-enacting the _Psycho_ shower-scene.

And he _had_ screamed like a little girl.

Whether he had done it to gratify her was something she hadn't thought of until she was ten.

"_Psycho_, _Silence of the Lambs_—he even put you through the original _Haunting_, but nothing got to you like Tinkerbell," Stefan said, and, despite herself, and the warmth of the afternoon, Giulia shuddered. Stefan looked seventeen years old, but he had seen her as an infant, a child—to him, she must still seem like a child. She was a little more than one-tenth of his age. "But, at least all that desensitising to horror and suspense was worth it; I haven't seen you jump once."

"I'm mellowed."

"Yeah, I saw you in the stoner-pit with Jeremy Gilbert."

"Oh, now, you sound as judgemental as Elena."

"It wasn't a judgement, just an observation."

"I told him about my drawing-class, I know he used to love art," Giulia sighed. "I thought it might be good for him to get back into something he enjoys."

"I think he enjoys getting stoned and having sex with Vicki Donovan."

"Would you like a pushpin in your eye?"

"Now, now, kids," said an irreverent voice, and Giulia glanced up, smiling, even as Stefan stiffened beside her. "No fighting."

"You're not wearing a Timberwolves sweatshirt to support your little brother," she remarked, smirking; Damon wore his traditional garb of tailored shirt, dark, expensive but understated jeans and a leather jacket.

"That I'm here at all shows how much I love you both," Damon said idly. He frowned, glancing around. "A pep-rally, Giulia, really?" Giulia shrugged.

"I designed the scarecrow we get to burn."

"And it looks suspiciously like some douche ex-boyfriend we all want to dismember."

"You're not going to dismember Tyler," Giulia sighed tiredly. She paused. "Maybe Stefan can rough him up during practice…"

"See, there's my girl," Damon smirked. "Let him have it; he deserves it." He sighed, glancing at Stefan. "Well, look at my little bro. Jock. Wide-receiver… Don't forget who taught you this game."

"Mm-hmm," Stefan murmured, before turning and walking away.

"Well, you'd think he'd be a little nicer to me, I'm just here to cheer on my team," Damon smirked, and Giulia smiled, rolling her eyes.

"Hey," she said gently, catching his arm before he could saunter off. "No trouble tonight, please?"

"Trouble?"

"I don't want this to be the second episode of Friday Night Bites," Giulia said, gazing earnestly at Damon, whose lips twitched in a tiny smirk before he smoothed his features.

"I promise…that I will be on my best Friday-night pep-rally behaviour," Damon said, raising his hand in the Star Trek salute. "Girl Scout Daisies' honour." Giulia rolled her eyes, and as Dana called her over, Damon blended with the crowd. Finishing the set-up, putting up banners and crimson and black balloons, as the sun began to set the crowd started to appear, parents and the community who liked the atmosphere of game-night even if the Timberwolves were notorious for a bad season. The Timberwolves hadn't made it to the playoffs since '86.

It was all very…_Grease_. A flaming bonfire with a scarecrow in likeness of Tyler, wearing a Lions jersey, the marching-band, people tailgating and enjoying themselves as the snack-shack busied selling nachos, popcorn, beer and candy.

The girls had to go on the field before the boys were announced, to do their first routine; they had a second, better one for the halftime show, when the marching-band would come out in their glory, but they were expected to stand on the sidelines—in this case, the state-of-the-art track surrounding the field—and cheer on the boys, tumbling and doing cartwheels and encouraging the crowd. Damon had once tried to teach her football; she could throw a 'pigskin', which was what the first football Damon ever had had been made of, but she was a baseball girl. The Chicago Bears; she'd found a Bears' baseball-cap in Stefan's room when she was four and asked her dad about it, and they'd started watching games together. That was when she'd decided she wanted to play baseball.

When the sky turned black, the bleachers and the field-house were suddenly illuminated by the glow of the bonfire, and Mr Tanner took his place on the podium to address the enthusiastic crowd. Fire and beer; an excellent combination, when added to music and hot girls in short skirts doing the splits. As Damon had joked, he wasn't fluent in teen dramas, associated the emotional exposition of _One Tree Hill_ with his introspective little-brother, but had watched the show for the hot actresses in cheerleading-uniforms.

"Quiet down for a minute!" Mr Tanner called, grinning. "Wait, wait, wait! Wait. Let's be honest here. In the past, we used to let other teams come into _our_ town and roll right over us!"

"Boo!"

"But that is about to change!" Mr Tanner declared, to general enthusiasm from the crowd. "We've got some great new talent tonight starting on offence!" Giulia grinned, shaking her pompoms, but narrowed her eyes when she saw the expression on Tyler's face.

Like he'd been spanked.

He glowered, arms crossed tight over his chest, murmuring to Matt as Mr Tanner called, "And I'm gonna tell you right now, it has been a long time since I have seen a kid like this, with hands like these!" Several people clapped their hands on Stefan's back as the crowd cheered, and Stefan smiled in a humble sort of way. "Let's give it up for Stefan Salvatore!"

The crowd went wild; beside her, Giulia noticed Bonnie wasn't bouncing quite as much as the other girls, though Caroline was into it.

"Our Timberwolves are _hungry_!" Mr Tanner declared, and the crowd screamed, ready to see the lauded Stefan Salvatore take the field and prove his mettle. Tyler shouldered his way through the crowd, out of sight. As Mr Tanner went on, Giulia noticed Stefan; he had frowned, glancing over his shoulder, and when he flicked his eyes back to her and the girls, fleetingly glancing at Elena, his eyes locked on hers in a troubled frown. When he meandered off, several of the guys on the team watching him go, perplexed, Giulia glanced at Caroline, and Bonnie, and followed Stefan, hoping to whatever god held sway over vampires that it wasn't Damon causing a scene.

It wasn't.

"—Tyler, stop! You're hurting him!"

Vicki Donovan was shouting; several people were merging towards what looked like the scene of a fight. Recognising the number on the back of the crimson jersey, Giulia stepped up her pace, following after Stefan, who threw himself into the fray, grabbing Tyler's wrist before he could pummel his victim again.

"He's down! Enough!" Stefan shouted angrily; glowering viciously, Tyler turned wild eyes onto Stefan, blindly swinging a punch. His fist connected with Stefan's torso but made no impact whatsoever; Giulia hoped his fingers broke. She scanned the grass, noticing a bloody-faced Jeremy Gilbert lying on his back, and a bottle smashed in half beside the wheel of a truck in which several of the notorious stoners had been sharing a flask.

"Jeremy, don't—!" Giulia called, darting forward, and grabbed Jeremy's wrist tight, giving him a stern look. "Drop it, Jeremy." Tyler busy marvelling at his inability to touch Stefan, Giulia had Jeremy's sole attention, and he gritted his jaw, looking fleetingly upset, before dropping the neck of a smashed bottle.

"What the _hell_, Jeremy—?"

"Leave it, Elena," Giulia said calmly, glancing over her shoulder as Elena started forward, looking murderous. She glanced at Stefan, who was helping Matt drag Tyler away from the scene. 'Helping' meant he was actually doing all the dragging, not giving Tyler any room to manoeuvre and get back to beating the hell out of a fifteen-year-old kid.

"Come on, let's go get you cleaned up," Giulia said gently, loosing her grip on Jeremy's wrist but leading him gently toward the field-house's disabled bathroom.

"Jer, you're bleeding!" Elena gasped, starting forward, but Jeremy dodged her, looking irate.

"I'm fine!"

"You _smell_ fine!" Elena glared.

"Elena. Leave him," Giulia said, gently tugging on Jeremy's hand, and, to get away from his judgemental sister, Jeremy followed her, staggering slightly. The crowd parted, bored now the fight was over, stunned Jeremy Gilbert might've defended himself with a broken bottle if nobody had stepped in, disgusted with Tyler Lockwood for picking a fight with a younger kid for no reason whatsoever; Giulia had Jeremy perch against the basin in the disabled-bathroom, rinsing a paper-towel under the cold water.

"Ouch. He got you good, didn't he," she tutted softly, eyeing the mess that was Jeremy's bleeding nose. "Tilt your head back a little, let me clean it up." Jeremy did as he was told, his expression morose, his eyes pain-drenched. "He get you anywhere else?"

"Stomach," Jeremy croaked softly.

"Well, that's nothing a few shots of Jack can't help," Giulia smiled softly, winking, and Jeremy attempted a smile. She sighed, cleaning up the last of the blood on his face. "Jeremy, I am so sorry he did this to you. There's no excuse."

"What'd you ever see in the guy?" Jeremy asked, gazing at her earnestly. "The guy's a dick."

"He is," Giulia agreed, sighing, as she grabbed another paper-towel to dry his face. "I guess…we'd known each other since we were three… And there were times, when he didn't think anybody was watching, when he wasn't the world's biggest douche."

"Find that hard to believe."

"Mm," Giulia nodded. "And he'll just have to take it with a pinch of salt that nobody will ever see any good in him. He betrayed the only person he ever let in."

"Hey…I'm sorry, for what he did with Vicki," Jeremy said quietly, gazing up at her. Giulia gazed back sadly.

"Me too," she said softly. "I think we _both_ deserve better than to be screwed over by Vicki Donovan." Jeremy sighed heavily. "Hey, Jeremy?"

"Yeah?"

"You were being safe, right?" she asked hesitantly. A gentle blush rose in Jeremy's cheeks, but he nodded. "Good." The bathroom-door burst open, and Elena appeared, seething.

"You got _drunk_ at the pep-rally?!"

Jeremy sighed heavily, tossed his dry paper-towel in the trash, and shouldered his way past his sister, ignoring her tirade. She whirled around, casting wounded, indignant eyes on Giulia, who gave her a thoroughly unimpressed look.

"He just got the shit kicked out of him, Elena," she said, drying her hands; she tossed the balled-up paper-towel in the trash and strode out of the bathroom. "How about you stick your nose out of other people's business long enough to ask if he's okay instead of judging him."

"Excuse me?! He got drunk at school and almost attacked someone with a smashed bottle—"

"Defending himself against a guy twice as strong, who picked a fight," Giulia corrected. "And over Vicki _Donovan_." She sighed, shaking her head, and shot Vicki an icy look as she strode past Matt yelling at his sister for stringing Jeremy on while she was messing around with someone's boyfriend.

_Ex-boyfriend_, Giulia thought, but appreciated Matt standing up for her, without knowing she had heard.

"Hey," said a voice, and Giulia glanced up; it was Stefan. "How's Jeremy?"

"Fine. 'Til Elena barged in," Giulia sighed, shaking her head. "Shouting at him isn't going to help." She knew this from constant battle with Tyler; if he acted out, yelling at him only served to make him feel victimised and would perpetuate the habit of misbehaviour. Now Giulia pondered whether corporal-punishment should've been outlawed. If anybody deserved a good hiding, it was Tyler Lockwood. She sighed, glancing around, hands on her waist. She caught sight of the busy snack-shack, her father smiling and chatting as he served up burgers and hotdogs, nachos and candy-bars. "Maybe Daddy can get through to him."

"If anybody knows about shock deaths and blame…" Stefan murmured heavily, and Giulia glanced at him, her emotions sinking. Stefan shot her a briefly apologetic look. "Hey, I didn't… I didn't mean it like that."

"I know. Daddy does know better than anyone," Giulia said softly, sighing again.

"Giulia!"

"Oh, that's Dana. I'd better go. Or Caroline will revoke my ponytail status."

"Whatever that means. Hey—I'll talk to Zach, ask him to speak to Jeremy," Stefan said, and Giulia smiled, before making her way over to the girls, all a-flutter about the fight between Jeremy Gilbert and Tyler Lockwood—over Vicki. As soon as Giulia approached, the girls exchanged meaningful looks and bit their lips, gazing wide-eyed at her. Gossips. Everyone knew Giulia had dumped Tyler; but still, Caroline had explained that the rules of feminism prohibited gossip about subjects tender to those present. She guessed they believed she was still sensitive about Tyler.

Sitting in the free clinic waiting to pee in a cup and see whether she'd contracted HIV or gonorrhoea had cleared her of any lingering feelings she had towards Tyler as her ex-boyfriend. Now she was just the dick who'd cheated on her, the bully who picked on people for no reason.

"Come on, girls, time to start stretching!" their coach called, and the girls made their way down to the track to warm up, while the boys retreated to the locker-room to get into their gear and listen to Mr Tanner's final words before they headed out onto the field.

Giulia didn't know what happened—well, she had a vague idea, later, when the situation was explained. The girls had stretched, ready to do their first routine, watching the Lions' cheerleaders entertain the Away bleachers full of gold and black; they had scouted the talent on the other team, warming up on their half of the field. Giulia liked the look of number 23's ass! They had the huge banner ready, the one she and Caroline and Dana had spent the week painting, ready for the team to burst through when the announcer called them onto the field.

Giulia saw Damon lurking in the stands, a streak of black leather and pale skin glowing in the lights, surrounded by girls who kept giggling; someone ran across the field to the other team's coaches; and then, they could hear sirens; Matt appeared, wearing crimson body-armour and shorts, still not dressed to take the field, pale and shaky.

"Tanner was attacked by the animal that's been killing people," he said shakily, eyes wide. Gasps, horrified stares; Giulia noticed how Matt was shaking, and Bonnie asked what had happened. Outside the locker-rooms, Matt had found Mr Tanner lying in a pool of his own blood.

The banner was abandoned; Bonnie was getting one of her 'feelings' again, and if the witch was sceptical, the knot that had formed in Giulia's stomach didn't lessen as she and Bonnie approached the tape that had been put up to prevent people crossing into the crime-scene. A black body-bag was being wheeled on a gurney to the ambulance; Tanner was dead, then.

Another 'animal-attack', right in the heart of town, with hundreds of people nearby, yet not a single witness. Giulia couldn't see Stefan anywhere; but she knew this was no animal-attack. She had asked Damon to be on his best behaviour; he had promised on the Girl Scout Daisies' honour, not to do anything. And there was only one reason Damon would act so rashly and kill right in the middle of a school campus, with hundreds of potential witnesses.

Stefan.

The Animal Control Unit arrived; the entire scene was bathed in red and blue lights from cruisers; as many people as possible crowded to get a look at what had happened. And Giulia saw Bonnie's expression; tearful, shocked…terrified.

"Bonnie?"

"G…Giulia!" Bonnie gasped, her eyes glistening with tears, and she pointed a shaky hand. Giulia followed her gaze. The plaque on the locker-room building; _8_. A black sedan parked beside where Tanner had been found bore the licence-plate, _FHT 14_. And a wash of blood, still wet against the dusty ground, smeared beside a painted number, the parking-space; _22_.

8; 14; 22. The numbers Bonnie had been obsessed with for days.

Giulia glanced at Bonnie, saw how overwhelmed she was, and drew her into a hug. The smaller girl choked on a sob and hugged her waist, her face buried in Giulia's chest. The height difference between them had always been comical; now it was comforting.

"I knew this was gonna happen!" Bonnie choked hoarsely.

"Have you talked to your Grams?" Giulia asked gently, and Bonnie shook her head. "Maybe you should."

"She'll say I'm a witch," Bonnie choked, sniffling.

"I've seen _Practical Magic_," Giulia smiled. "Witches are cool." Bonnie gave a hollow laugh, sniffing. She wiped her eyes, taking a shaky breath. "At least we know I'll have bath-time with that dark, handsome man you saw." Bonnie laughed, smiling tremulously.

"Yeah," she said, nodding, pulling herself together. "At least!"

The game didn't matter anymore; word of Mr Tanner's death spread through the crowd, along with the confirmation that though the animal had attacked, it was nowhere to be found in the vicinity, therefore the cops were supervising a staggered exit from the stadium. Giulia didn't understand the politics of football, but she heard that due to Mr Tanner's death, the game wouldn't be played, and the Timberwolves would forfeit their first game of the season.

Again, Giulia wondered what Stefan had done to piss Damon off; he would only kill and leave a body in the middle of school so carelessly if he wasn't thinking, if he was _angry_, and nobody excited his anger like his little-brother.

But Damon had disappeared; she spied Stefan, helping Elena with her jacket on by her _Ford_; they had driven to school together after dinner, Stefan and Giulia, and once he'd seen Elena off in her car, Stefan sighed, making his way over to Giulia, who had waited for him in her car.

She didn't wait to be delicate. "What did you say to him?"

Stefan sighed heavily, glancing at her no-nonsense expression. "What're you talking about?"

"I'm talking about what you said to Damon to make him act out," Giulia said sternly. And that was precisely what killing Tanner had been—Damon acting out. For a guy who claimed he wanted to start living low-profile, he had acted impulsively.

"He was talking about seducing Elena, or eating her," Stefan sighed. "He was being smug, I claimed he cared about Elena, that he isn't actually the monster he pretends to be… Goaded him to kill me. Claimed his inability to kill me after a hundred and forty-five years, the fact that he still loves Katherine, is his humanity."

"You're one to talk about humanity," Giulia frowned disapprovingly, glancing at Stefan, who raised his eyebrows.

"Excuse me!"

"I've read your journals. 1917. The Ripper of Monterrey," Giulia said, glancing at Stefan, whose features grew appalled.

"That was a long time ago," Stefan said quietly.

"Maybe," Giulia said softly. "But we both know the hold you have on your humanity is tied to your animal diet. The second you taste human blood, you turn into a sociopath, no respect for human-life whatsoever." Stefan stared at her as she guided her Beetle through familiar streets.

"I… I didn't know that you knew that about me," Stefan said quietly.

"Well, I do. Considering what _you_ used to get up to, having a nibble on Caroline and taunting you about Elena is almost _juvenile_ of Damon," Giulia said. "At least his _five_ kills are only drained; they're not dismembered by the handfuls."

She wasn't _afraid_ of Stefan or Damon the way her dad was; and that was the way her father had always wanted it. He hated living in constant fear that something awful would happen. That she was best-friends with Damon—his _only_ friend—and that Stefan was on a no-human diet, made it easier for her dad to feel less terrified about them being around his daughter. And she could take care of herself; having only one parent, Zach had raised his daughter to know what to do in an emergency, so that if anything ever did happen to him, either by accident, natural death or at the hands of their supernatural relatives, she knew what to do.

He had insisted she learn self-defence at the very least; and he had taught her how to cultivate vervain since she was nine years old, growing African-violets from a single leaf at school. And because of Damon, she had grown up into a girl who wouldn't scream and run in the face of heart-stopping terror. She could keep her head in an emergency, in a way few other girls her age ever could.

"It's been a long time since I've tasted human-blood, Giulia," Stefan said quietly. "I'm in no hurry to get back to that lifestyle. I don't like who I become. But Damon…"

"Damon is who you made him," Giulia said gently, sliding a glance at Stefan, who quirked his eyebrows enigmatically.

"What do you mean?"

"Everything he's done in his eternity has been to punish you," Giulia said softly. "At what point did he start to change so he could torment you without feeling guilty."

"He turned his feelings off," Stefan said quietly.

"Damon told me once that a vampire named Sage taught him how to live as a vampire _without_ killing, without having to give in to that darkest instinct to kill," Giulia said, indicating to turn. "The way he lives now, taking hits of blood from a single source, over and over again, like what he's doing with Caroline, is his way of curbing the need to kill."

"So why did he kill Tanner, then?" Stefan retorted.

"Because you aggravated him. You know how reactive Damon is."

"Reactive. You think Damon's _reactive_?"

"Everything he's done to make you miserable since 1864 is because of what you did to him," Giulia reminded him. Stefan sighed heavily.

"Since when did you become an expert on the Salvatore brothers' feud?" he asked, sounding slightly amazed. Giulia shrugged.

"I just know there are two sides to the story," she said softly. "You've little right to be holier-than-thou about Damon's behaviour. But…I think eternity is too long to hold a grudge. He'd be a lot happier if he didn't have to concert all his effort into punishing you."

"He doesn't have to punish me," Stefan grumbled. "And with the things he does…does he have any right to be happy?"

"There you go again…forgetting," Giulia said, giving Stefan a look. "How many women have you torn to pieces and put back together? Why should I feel safe with you dating one of my friends?"

"You feel better about Damon dating Caroline than me and Elena being together?" Stefan said indignantly.

"Why d'you think I was always more afraid of you as a little girl?" Giulia said softly, eyes on the road. "Damon told me what you did to your victims; I don't want to find my friends in pieces when you slip up."

"I'm not going to slip up."

"This rivalry, between you and Damon…you wanting him gone, the only way you can beat him is by drinking human blood to build your strength," Giulia said softly, sighing. "But you can't drink human-blood without going on a Ripper binge."

"I _know_!" Stefan said fiercely, glaring at her, and Giulia shrugged; she wasn't saying anything that wasn't true.

"There's no need to raise your voice," Giulia said softly, glancing at Stefan, who bit his lip repentantly and sighed.

"I'm sorry," Stefan sighed. "He just…makes me a little insane."

"Mm-hmm… Just…don't do anything to piss him off. Damon will get bored," Giulia said softly.

"Mm," Stefan grunted softly.

"He always leaves," Giulia said sadly. Damon would appear in a blitz-attack, making her dad instantly uncomfortable, but bringing her gifts, spending 'quality time' with her, doing a lot of stuff she would've done with an older-brother. Then he would disappear, when she least expected it. He liked to keep her on her toes, he said; she hated whenever he left again.

"And you're the only person who actually misses him when he's gone," Stefan murmured. Giulia glanced at him.

"Says the boy who forced Damon to turn so he wouldn't be alone without his big-brother for eternity," she said softly. Stefan shot her a look; yes, she knew. She was the only person in the world who knew both sides to the Salvatore story, the only one whom Damon had ever confided in. So she knew Stefan hadn't always been so saintly—and that, beneath the uptight Dr Jekyll front he put on, beat the un-dead heart of a ruthless and sadistic Mr Hyde.

"Yeah, well, look what that got me…" Stefan sighed, and Giulia nodded as she pulled her Beetle under the overhang outside the front-door, where the old car could be protected from rain and thus, rust. It was an _old_ car. Not as old as Stefan or Damon, but it was vintage VW and if she didn't take care of it, it'd break her heart to see it rust and fall apart. It had belonged to her grandma Doll, the very same Doll whom Stefan remembered being a fashionable cheerleader. "I guess you figure I had it coming."

"I wouldn't say that," Giulia said, climbing out of her seat, and she locked her door as Stefan shut his, tugging his backpack over his shoulder. It was strange to see her 161-year-old great-uncle carrying a History textbook and pre-calculus notes. Considering his credentials from Harvard hung on his bedroom-wall, suffering through high-school again was a mark of how much he had wanted to know Elena.

"Oh, really?" Stefan smiled sadly. "What would you call it?"

"I don't know," Giulia said thoughtfully. "You took away his choice…he's taking away your joy. Although, I suppose I should be thanking you."

"Why's that?" Stefan smiled.

"If you hadn't forced that girl on him—that's ironic—then I wouldn't have known him," Giulia said softly. Not to know Damon? She wondered how empty her life would have been, how… Well, how many things she would never have done because it had been Damon who had coaxed her into doing them. She probably would have turned out a spoiled, snooty cow like Elena sometimes could be, or an overachieving but rather obnoxious girl like Caroline; i.e. a Founding Daughter, and everything that the name implied. Entitled, snobbish, condescending and disdainful. The thought of being like the Fell cousins made her skin crawl.

Giulia was a nice girl—mellow but articulate, introverted and somewhat self-secluding, but people who knew her all thought she was the loveliest girl in the world, because she was _kind_. But even she had to take a few shots to mellow around the Fell cousins. They were obnoxious and entitled to the highest degree; they could've been part of Blair Waldorf's clique.

It was Damon who had had the most influence on Giulia as she had grown up; he had been there to coach her through every milestone, as much as her father had. And he had always been the one who coaxed her to chip through her shell, teasing her to be outgoing and adventurous.

If Stefan had never forced Damon to drink human-blood all those years ago, if he had let Damon have his wish and die peacefully at the side of the old quarry, Giulia would never have known him. Their family-history would be entirely different. She would never have known about vampires, except in Giuseppe Salvatore's cryptic and incredibly dry, not to mention poorly-written journal, which she would have taken for the ramblings of a man ridden with grief over his sons' deaths in the Battle of Willow Creek.

"And a lot of people wouldn't have died," Stefan sighed heavily.

"The same could be said of you transitioning," Giulia said, unlocking the front-door. Stefan sighed, but didn't bother to reply; he knew it was true.

The Hypocrite Police, i.e. Giulia, were here to remind Stefan that he was no saint; that whatever Damon was doing now was nothing to what Stefan had done, and was capable of doing.

So when Stefan disappeared up to his bedroom to scribble in his journal about the big bad vampire killing his football coach, Giulia brought out her own diary too, and sat in the library with her father, talking about what had happened. With Stefan upstairs, Damon out doing god knew what, her dad told her about developments within the Founders' Council.

A fire burning in the grate in the library, Giulia sat in a lazy t-shirt, a pair of shorts, her hair untied, letting the fire warm her toes as she sprawled in a leather armchair while her dad read; she had a sketchbook out, drawing her friends, Bonnie and Caroline, in their cheerleading uniforms, as she had seen them earlier today, before everything had happened. Drawing something she was wonderful at, passionate about; she loved to sketch, to create beautiful images out of a piece of graphite and a sheet of high-quality paper. Sometimes she drew in a full sketchbook, and sometimes she would illustrate her diary entries. Her diary was full of Instagram strips, Polaroid photos, black-and-white photographs she had developed for her photography elective last semester, candids from parties and her illustrations, sometimes plain graphite, sometimes coloured with the exquisitely high-quality pencils Damon had given her for her birthday last year, one of a few pieces to mark her Sweet Sixteen.

She finished her full-page sketch, pondering whether to colour it, and turned to her diary, writing about Mr Tanner, and the things her father had told her about the Founders' Council—that they wanted vervain; that the caverns, abandoned buildings, etc. had all been searched by the Sheriff and her trusted deputies, who were all on vervain.

They knew a vampire/s was in Mystic Falls. And they had an idea how to track it down. The Founders—William Forbes, George Lockwood, Giuseppe Salvatore, Jonathan Gilbert, Honoria Fell—had kept journals throughout the 1860s when the vampire epidemic had ravaged Mystic Falls; and from those journals, each Founding Family had inherited their knowledge of vampires, and of Jonathan Gilbert's 'inventions'.

The Lockwoods had one piece of a device Jonathan Gilbert had invented, which supposedly worked as a compass to point out vampires. They were searching for the other piece. A pocket-watch.

And Mayor and Mrs Lockwood were intending to use next week's Founders' Party to rule out suspects.

Sheriff Forbes had asked Zach how he had gotten Giulia to wear vervain; apparently, Zach had fessed up that Giulia knew the town's dark secret. He had told the Founders' Council that, it being just the two of them, he wanted her to know her heritage young before time could get in the way. Liz was worried how she could get her daughter to wear vervain; they didn't get on at the best of times, so she could only assume that Caroline wouldn't do anything she asked.

With what Giulia had mentioned to her dad about Damon spending time with Damon, Zach had just said he'd have Giulia figure something out; they were best-friends and she knew Caroline better than anybody. Giulia would get Caroline to wear vervain if anybody could…

_Though it's a bit too late_, Giulia thought, as Damon returned home.

* * *

**A.N.**: Okay, my take on the ill-fated football game! We never actually see Stefan participate in team practices etc. throughout the rest of the show. It's not even mentioned—and let's not start on how little the kids seem to actually attend class!

The cheerleading uniforms get to me for some reason; those necklines are _completely_ impractical. Anyway, if you've seen the later series of _One Tree Hill_, the long-sleeved black uniforms the girls wear during their senior Classic is the design I see the girls wearing, in red with black and white details. They're just that teensy bit classier, as far as cheerleading-uniforms go.


	7. Dinner-Date with Daddy

**A.N.**: I keep watching the flashbacks to 1864 and can't stop being aggravated over the incorrect silhouettes of the dresses. Anyone who's seen the Winona Ryder _Little Women_ knows the skirt is more hourglass-figured from the waist, not tapered down to the hem. _Bugs me_! I want to gouge the costume designer's eyes out. And Katherine's dresses reveal her corsets—that would _never_ happen! I know, I know, the costumes are supposed to be 'sexy' as well as era-appropriate, but even the hairstyles bug me, too; the hair would be bound up in a net during the day, and pinned and curled away from the face at a dinner-party or ball. Check out Winterhalter paintings for ideas.

I'm a stickler for historical accuracy when it comes to dress. I have the same issue with Keira K as Elizabeth; she has _no_ _bust_ to fill out the figure of the _Pirates_ dresses! Grrr…

* * *

**Drunken Binges, Funerals and Formals**

_07_

_Dinner-Date with Daddy_

* * *

_September 12, 5:39 p.m._

_Monday. Yuck. Luckily it's nearly over. And I'm at the MF Community Centre waiting for my new drawing-class to start. At least that's something to look forward to on a Monday-night. It starts at 6 p.m. Then Daddy and I are going to the Grill for dinner. He wants to talk about the Council._

_It's so strange that Damon and Stefan are both back in town. Usually when they appear, they stay around the house, catch up, hatch some nefarious plan (that's Damon) or inventory things they've picked up on their travels (i.e. Stefan the pack-rat). They only stay a few days, and then they disappear into the night._

_They're living with us, but they're never at home. Stefan is always with Elena, which, if I knew Stefan better, might have made me jealous that I didn't get to spend as much time with him. But we never 'hung out' and honestly I was always too afraid to spend much time with him unaccompanied. But Damon? He's always with Caroline._

_Noah Grayson asked me out. Caroline suggested we double-date._

_I suggested we shave our eyeballs instead._

_It would be just as fun._

_I don't know if I want to accept the invitation. Noah's very pretty; but he's not the kind of boy to let things be after just one date; Caroline says he's liked me since freshman-year, I don't know… Maybe if I make it clear I'm not looking for anything permanent so soon after Tyler?_

_Anyway…_

_I've been thinking about Caroline a lot; how do I get vervain on/in her? She's not the type of girl to commit to a bracelet every day, so I don't know whether putting it into jewellery would work. In any case, she's with Damon at the moment, and giving her vervain now might make trouble for her if Damon tried to compel her to forget something big…_

_There's one way to make sure someone keeps their mouth shut, Damon says; killing people is what a vampire does best, after all._

_It's odd that I'm actually the most comfortable with Damon seeing Caroline. Elena got all condescending and judgemental that Caroline is dating the 'dangerous' older-brother—if only she knew about Stefan's Ripper phases!_

_Yes, Damon is dangerous. Only relative to his lifestyle as a vampire; and only when the situation demands it._

_But Damon controls his bloodlust, rather than letting it control him: and the ability to 'snack' on Caroline whenever he needs blood, leaving her cut but alive is more comforting than the thought of what might happen if Stefan gives in._

_Would he 'rip' Elena?_

_Damon and I talked on Sunday, about Tanner._

_He says he killed Tanner, not just because Stefan had goaded him about his remnant humanity, but because Tanner had given me a B- on my essay and a detention, and was a notorious bully._

_He won't let me feel bad for him killing Tanner over my grade; he could have just as well killed Tyler or Tiki, but Tanner was there, and he already had a record for giving me a bad grade and detention._

_Some people wish for a fairy-godmother._

_Having a dysfunctional vampire-godfather isn't quite the same…_

_Where was I?_

_Damon says Stefan's biggest problem—other than that damn high-horse—is self-control. Yes, it takes a lot for him to stay 'sober' and live off animals, but he has never learned to control the bloodlust; he continues to go cold-turkey without dealing with the basic need to feed on human blood. Without control it: Damon says he needs to build up a tolerance for human blood. With an eternity to work on it, I'm sure Stefan can do it._

_Damon says Stefan is like the worst kind of self-destructive addict regarding blood. And he told me the best thing to do when Stefan falls off the wagon is to revel in his hypocrisy, before contacting the vampire named Alexia Branson. Damon says she's helped Stefan set himself to rights since 1864._

_Damon insists that on-the-brink Stefan is a lot of fun; Stefan just can't control falling over the edge—he pretty much dives headfirst over it. And then the Ripper comes out._

_So what if Stefan falls off the wagon here, in Mystic Falls, now? How are we supposed to explain how townsfolk are turning up in pieces? Well, not exactly 'in pieces'; after he rips someone, Stefan will feel complete remorse and put the bodies back together, like some macabre jigsaw-puzzle._

_Knowing what I do about both brothers' histories, I believe Damon's lifestyle is far safer and less destructive; Stefan is a time-bomb waiting to go off, with the catalyst being human-blood._

_If the alternative to Damon feeding on Caroline is that he leaves a trail of half-buried bodies across Mystic Falls, I just have to hope that I can convince him to give Caroline a little of his blood after a feed to heal her of any evidence._

_Her mother is the sheriff, has read the Forbes journals, knows what she's looking for and would probably be heartbroken to discover that her daughter is a frequent afternoon-snack for a vampire._

_Damon is putting too much effort into starting to live low-profile to be here just to torture Stefan. There are easier ways to do that than date one of his girlfriend's friends and inviting himself over to Elena's house for cake and coffee!_

_I think he's up to something._

_So does Daddy. And so does Stefan. Always, Stefan believes Damon is up to something. Only this time I believe that to be true._

_And it's nice that Stefan has stopped frowning at me and lecturing me on how Damon is 'manipulating' me into loving him as my favourite; Damon has never compelled nor manipulated me. I just prefer him; he's always been open with me, and unafraid to be part of my life, so that I'm not afraid of him._

_I think everybody deserves that._

_But I do want to know what he's up to. Especially if it'll put myself, Daddy and Caroline in danger. Oh, and Bonnie and Elena too._

_I just find it strange that after 145 years, Damon returns to Mystic Falls. I don't think Stefan's return to be with Elena had anything to do with Damon coming home; because a lot of stuff has a huge anniversary in the coming year. The comet has already occurred; it passed over Mystic Falls the first time in '64, when the Fell's Church fire occurred. When Katherine was killed._

_And it's the big anniversary of Mystic Falls' Founding Families._

_150 years of Mystic Falls._

_I've got to finish things for the Heritage Project this week; Mrs Lockwood asked me to help put the finishing touches on everything in the hall, ready for the Founders' Party._

[7:46 p.m.]

_The Grill. Waiting for Daddy—_

* * *

"Hey, kiddo, put that away?" her dad coaxed, and Giulia smiled, glancing up, and closed her diary, storing it carefully in her bag. She had been waiting for a few minutes for her dad to arrive for their dinner-date.

There were a lot of secrets in her inconspicuous little turquoise book; if it weren't illegal nowadays, those secrets would have led the Founders' Council to burn her and her daddy at the stake for fraternising/sympathising with vampires. She zipped her bag shut and when the hostess picked up several menus, ready to take them to her dad's favourite booth.

"Actually, I need the bathroom, I'll meet you over there," Giulia said, and her dad smiled, following the hostess over to a booth. On her way back through the restaurant, noticing the usual suspects playing pool in the corner, Vicki Donovan refilling drinks, someone called her name.

"Giulia, honey!" She smiled when she saw Mrs Lockwood beaming at her, gazing past Vicki, whose expression Giulia saw grew cold and impatient before she stormed off, glaring over her shoulder at Tyler. Mrs Lockwood's smile glittered as Giulia approached, and she leaned down to kiss Mrs Lockwood's bony cheek.

"Hi Mrs Lockwood," she smiled. "Mayor."

"Hey, sweetheart," Mayor Lockwood smiled.

"I'm so glad I spotted you!" Mrs Lockwood smiled. "We're just going over plans for the Founders' Party. Is there _any_ chance you can convince your daddy to attend? We see him so rarely."

"I can try," Giulia smiled. "But I wouldn't hold my breath."

"Oh, well, that's a shame," Mrs Lockwood smiled sadly. "You know, your mom loved the Founders' Party." Giulia smiled, a little tensely. "Anyway, we'd love it if your dad could be there. And I was hoping you'd managed to track down those artefacts you wanted to add to the Salvatore display."

"I found two of the portraits, the family bible—if it's okay, I'd really rather give that to you at the last minute? It's…well, it's dated from 1312."

"Oh my god!" Mrs Lockwood's expression illuminated with curiosity. "_1312_!"

"It was passed down through the Salvatore family, before they emigrated from Florence to France, and then Virginia," Giulia said, smiling. She loved the European aspect of her family's heritage, much more than the Mystic Falls chapter. "It logs all of the children born to the family since 1312, though the family goes back further."

"That's incredible," Mrs Lockwood beamed. "I'd love to take a look at it before the party. Oh, and the jewellery you promised?"

"My cousin Damon actually helped me find it, tucked up in the attic," Giulia smiled, a little ironically. When Veritas Manor, the Salvatore family's first residence in Mystic Falls, had been allowed to fall into disrepair, the family had moved everything of value to the Boarding House when it was built in Tudor-revival style in 1894. Damon had done inventory on most of the family possessions. This was before he had turned into the hedonist, when Stefan had been struggling to keep from going Ripper on Mystic Falls. "There are some old photographs, and there's actually a collection of gowns dated to 1862 in perfect condition, I wanted your opinion on them, whether one or two could be put into the display."

"From 1862! Oh my goodness, I wish you'd said something sooner! The museum curator could've taken a look at all of them!" Mrs Lockwood gasped, almost giddy.

"A bible dating to 1312 and antique dresses from the Civil War—is there anything the Salvatore family can't dig up?" Mayor Lockwood chuckled.

"We're notorious pack-rats," Giulia smiled.

"I've seen your family's library," Mayor Lockwood smiled easily. "I'll attest to that!"

"I thought your cousin was called Stefan," Mrs Lockwood mused, gazing from her son to Giulia. "Tyler's mentioned he joined the football-team."

"Damon is Stefan's older-brother," Giulia said, smiling. "My dad is Stefan's legal-guardian now, until he's eighteen. But Damon's in town for a little while…they lost their parents not so long ago."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Mrs Lockwood sighed. "Will they be coming to the Founders' Party?"

"If that's okay," Giulia said, and Mrs Lockwood smiled. "I think Elena's asked Stefan to be her date, so he'll be there. I said Damon could escort me…"

"Well, we'd love to meet more of your family," she said. "It must be nice to have more company in that big old house."

"It's an adjustment," Giulia smiled. "I'm used to Daddy, not boys." Mrs Lockwood chuckled.

"Speaking of family—is your father here, Giulia?" Mayor Lockwood asked.

"Uh, yes—he was just seated," Giulia said, glancing around. Mayor and Mrs Lockwood exchanged a brief look.

"Why don't I escort you over to your table," Mayor Lockwood smiled, getting up from his seat. "If it's okay, I'd like to have a quick word with your dad before your meal."

"I'll call you about those gowns, Giulia," Mrs Lockwood smiled. "Oh, and we've got the Fall calendar for the Daughters of Mystic Falls ready to give out to the girls, I can give you your copy when you drop the things off your family's things for the display."

"Great," Giulia smiled subtly. "I look forward to Heritage Week."

"Oh, me too," Mrs Lockwood smiled, sipping her drink. "It was always my favourite school-activity when I was a girl. Alright, I won't keep you from your dad any longer."

"Bye, Mrs Lockwood," Giulia smiled, and the older woman smiled and winked. Her husband led the way to the booth where Giulia's father was going through some paperwork; as Giulia slid into the opposite bench, Mayor Lockwood and her father conversed quietly, but she could still hear what they were saying; apparently her knowing about vampires and the Council meant they didn't have to keep up any charade.

"—we're still working on the pocket-watch. We had no need of it before Grayson died in the accident."

"And if we can't find it? Can the piece you have work without its casing?"

"I guess if we can't find it, we'll have to test the theory. Carol's convinced we can get the watch, Miranda promised she'd lend it to the Heritage Project," Mayor Lockwood sighed. "But if they put it someplace safe, how're their kids to know where it is?"

"Yeah, that's troubling," her dad sighed. "We should've put this display together in the museum ages ago."

"I know. I'm thinking of asking the Historical Society to make the project a permanent display," Mayor Lockwood said. "The Daughters of Mystic Falls do their Heritage Week at the elementary-school every year; it would be a good excuse to hang on to some of the artefacts a little longer."

"Mm," her dad nodded, and Giulia folded her napkin in her lap as she eyed the menu, not bothering to pretend not to listen.

"I just wanted to ask you about the vervain," Mayor Lockwood said, dropping his voice as a waitress passed.

"I'm working on it," her dad said softly. He eyed Giulia. "Giulia's working on the jewellery—" He lifted his hands. "Large hands; clumsy fingers. But Giulia had a good idea about the sheriff's department."

"Oh?"

"Um…" At Mayor Lockwood's surprised gaze, Giulia sat up a little straighter, clearing her throat shyly. "We can get a local jeweller to solder little capsules of vervain to the back of the department's badges. That way they don't have to ingest it; we can share more of it around that way."

"It takes a while to grow," her dad said softly. "We've got nearly two-dozen small plants, and our supply of dried flowers and the liquid is moderate, but it can't stretch to the number of people who need it, not if we're all ingesting it on a daily basis."

"So placing it in jewellery is the best way forward?" Mayor Lockwood said, frowning thoughtfully. "Carol wears hers on a charm-bracelet I gave her on our first anniversary."

"It's not foolproof, but with the supplies we have, it'll have to do," her dad sighed, staring earnestly at Mayor Lockwood. "The best we can do is to keep inconspicuous about it. Nothing flashy or obvious."

"If people give us a piece of jewellery they were on a daily basis, we can fit little capsules of it into them," Giulia said softly, and Mayor Lockwood winked at her.

"You are going to make a _great_ addition to the Council; we need ingenuity like yours," he smiled warmly, glancing at her dad with an impressed look. Glancing back at Giulia, he asked, "You still doing your puzzles?"

"Yes, sir," Giulia smiled; her love of complicated, pretty much unsolvable wood puzzles was notorious within the Founding Families circle. She was a _very_ smart girl.

"I'm heartbroken you dumped my son; I don't get to give you another puzzle as part of your birthday-gift," Mayor Lockwood smiled, winking again. "Well, he'll realise what an idiot he's been…and then he'll regret losing you for the rest of his life. Trust me."

"Thanks, Mayor Lockwood," Giulia said softly, smiling shyly.

"Well, I still insist on our traditional dance at the Founders' Party, I hope you don't mind," Mayor Lockwood chuckled, and Giulia smiled softly. Every year, Mayor Lockwood insisted on dancing with the Daughters of Mystic Falls at the Founders' Party. And if they had the misfortune of getting him after he'd had a few martinis…well, it wasn't the most comfortable thing to dance with Mayor Lockwood when he'd had a few.

"No, I don't," she smiled.

"Excellent. And try and convince your dad to come," Mayor Lockwood said, shooting her dad a glance. "Carol's insisting we need the full Council there."

"I'll try—but don't anticipate him turning up in a tie," Giulia said, and Mayor Lockwood chuckled.

"I won't. I remember the arguments with Coach Greggs on game-days about his tie," he smiled.

"Four years in the Marines, I've earned the right not to wear a tie," her dad smiled.

"Fair enough," Mayor Lockwood said, smiling. He shook her father's hand, then bent to kiss Giulia's cheek. "Giulia, it was lovely seeing you again. I'll have Carol get back to you about that jewellery, Zach."

Giulia sighed, glancing at her father, when Mayor Lockwood had disappeared. "Are you going to go?"

"I don't know yet," her dad sighed. "Founders' Parties… Not really my thing."

"You don't want to be there to make sure Damon doesn't do anything homicidal?" Giulia asked nonchalantly, and her dad gave her a look.

"After Mr Tanner, I'd hope the itch to kill has been soothed," her dad sighed.

"That's disgusting," Giulia grimaced. "Come on, come to the party. Open bar…Mayor Lockwood's tab."

Her dad smiled. "Now you're making it seem more appealing."

"See!" Giulia smiled. "Plus, you still haven't given Tyler a good talking to."

"Mm, an open bar and access to the boy who broke my daughter's heart…an enticing combination," her dad said drily.

"And lethal," she added, sighing.

"How was your drawing class, by the way?" her dad asked.

"It was really good, actually," Giulia beamed. "Look, I'll show you my sketchbook…"

Giulia loved dinner-dates with her father. He let her embrace her social-life as long as one night a week was set aside for them to have dinner together; as a child, Giulia used to eat every meal together with her father as a family, unless her dad had a dinner-party to go to, something he hated but their family's status in this town made obligatory. Sometimes they would eat at home, preparing their favourite meals together, and sometimes they would meet out, especially if they had other plans around the meal.

They talked about a lot of things, Giulia and her dad. Only ever them, with blitz visits from Damon or Stefan, Zach had raised Giulia a companion to him as much as his daughter. He had raised her to be _adult_; they talked about obscure novels, sipped scotch in front of the fire while they listened to music and chatted about their days; they dug up the earth in the vegetable-garden and tuned the cars in the garage; at the lake-house he had taught her to catch and gut fish they cooked fresh from the water for dinner, and her dad was working on teaching her how to build a boat using their hands.

He had claimed to Mayor Lockwood that he had clumsy hands; but her father had inherited a love of carpentry from his father, and Giulia loved the smell of sawdust. Her father had taught Giulia how to play chess and she now slaughtered him every time, anticipating each move three steps ahead. Using his carpentry skills, her father had honed her love of wooden puzzles over the years by creating more and more complex ones for her to play with and solve, a treat every Christmas and birthday, with a small one in her Christmas stocking to keep her entertained in the morning before presents were opened, and a larger, more complicate one on New Year's Eve. Her dad would spend the entire year researching and planning them, trying out different variations and testing their complexity. She was already anticipating this year's creations.

Her chief loves were sketching, ballroom-dancing and literature; but her dad was teaching her carpentry, and Damon had given her piano-lessons since she was a baby. Cheerleading she did for the other girls; photography had been her chosen elective last semester; gardening kept them in fresh, home-grown seasonal vegetables; she continued to learn to cook new recipes; and though she didn't watch much television, she and her dad had given a donation to restore The Doll, the movie-theatre renamed in the 1960s after her grandmother, originally built in the Thirties by Peter Salvatore, her great-great-grandfather. She loved _old_ movies. And she was a little obsessed with history. All of her interests, her obsessions, were detailed in her diaries, photographed and documented, literary conquests documented in a list, everything detailed for her future children to know her teenaged self by.

Something she didn't have the luxury of with her own mother. Giulia knew very little about her; Damon didn't talk about her, perhaps in respect for Zach's sorrow over her loss, and his knowledge of Giulia's mixed feelings over her death.

* * *

It was a return to normalcy, their dinner-night; as freely as they could, they talked about Mr Tanner's death, Giulia's feelings on Damon and Stefan staying with them, Stefan dating one of her friends, their books, and the local gossip.

At home later, after sharing a tub of _Phish Food_ for a treat, her dad retreated to his study to do some work, and Giulia went up to her room after sourcing several books from the shelves in the library. She had an English report to do research for, and she wanted to get started on her next History paper.

They had had a sub in History today, a regular they all liked pretty well, who wanted to stick as close to Mr Tanner's course guidelines as possible before the teaching position could be filled permanently. So they still had the paper-every-three-weeks cycle to follow; Giulia wanted to investigate female sexuality and suppression in Victorian Virginia. There were a _surprising_ number of books on the subject in the library—and she had also found a book sold online by a Professor I Flemming published by Duke University Press called _The Night-Walkers of the New World_, which claimed to be an in-depth study into the origin of the vampire species.

A chapter on it detailed the presence of vampires in Civil War-era Virginia. Specifically, Mystic Falls.

Someone had made a degree of researching vampires in 1860s Mystic Falls. She _had_ to read their published work; it was too intriguing. And writing a paper discrediting the theory of vampires in Virginia was too tempting; she was saving it for after her Victorian-sexuality essay.

Damon would get a kick out of her vampire essay. With Mr Tanner gone, she could write something creative like that; he'd have given her an F on principal, thinking she was just bullshitting him.

As she went through the several volumes her family owned that analysed and contextualised Shakespeare plays—specifically _Twelfth Night_, her English Lit class's first study—Damon strode into her room, glanced around for her, where she sat on her sofa, the coffee-table spread with sticky-noted books and highlighted notes, Firenze purring on one of her feet while _Blackadder_ played on the television for background noise.

"Hey," she said, around a highlighter, as she brought her notes out from last semester's lectures on Shakespeare, when they had studied _Hamlet_ and, of course, _Romeo and Juliet_.

"Look at you, doing your homework!" Damon smirked, flouncing down onto her bed; he eyed the novels, sketchbook, her case of coloured pencils and the pile of freshly-folded laundry he had just jostled, then reached to the ledge running atop the panelling around the room, to a little purple-haired doll.

"Just doing some reading," Giulia said, her lips making a popping noise as she shot the highlighter onto the sofa-cushion. Damon found a little pink comb and sat, ankles crossed, dressed in one of his finest nefariously-evil black outfits, brushing her Strawberry Shortcake doll's hair.

"Cherry Jam's looking good," Damon remarked, propped up against a mound of pillows, and Giulia smiled; she could give him such a hard time for his affinity for her doll, Cherry Jam. Combing the doll's hair seemed to soothe Damon; he would sit like that on her bed by the hour, gazing into nothingness while he combed the synthetic purple hair.

"Just don't start manhandling her—she'll tell me if you do," Giulia murmured, going through her book.

"Hm," Damon quirked an eyebrow, but gently combed Cherry Jam's hair. "So. Tell me. The Founders' Council…" Giulia glanced up, and Damon gave her a look. "I read your diary."

"Of course you did," Giulia sighed.

"So Mystic Falls has a modern-day group of vigilantes looking to eradicate the vampire infestation," Damon sighed heavily.

"Yes, and Daddy has always done his part to protect you and Stefan," Giulia said. "So don't think he'd ever out you."

"How long's this thing been around?"

"I think _you_ know the answer to that better than I do," Giulia said, highlighting a passage in her notes, and Damon grunted softly. "They're going on the Founders' notes from 1864. It's a shame Stefan didn't burn their journals when he went and ripped them to pieces."

"Journals?"

"All of the Founders were notorious diarists," Giulia said, gazing at Damon. "I thought you knew that. They recorded everything about 1864. The Lockwoods, the Fells—the Forbes' documents consist of the sheriff's papers from the time. And then there's Jonathan Gilbert."

"I remember him," Damon nodded. "Spearheaded the search for vampires, along with Mayor Lockwood and his son George."

"Mm," Giulia said softly. "When Daddy told the Council I knew about vampires, the _real_ history of Fell's Church and all of that stuff, Grayson Gilbert gave me one of Jonathan Gilbert's journals to read."

"Oh, really?"

"Yes. It was a fascinating read—I think he must have been insane by the time he died," Giulia said thoughtfully. "But he talked about the Founders' search for vampires."

"Huh," Damon said thoughtfully. "And the Founders passed on all these journals?"

"To keep the town safe if vampires ever returned to Mystic Falls," Giulia nodded.

"Surprised they took the stuff seriously," Damon said. Giulia shrugged. "Who else besides your dad is on the Council?"

"The Founding families, a bunch of city officials…um, I know there's a doctor at the hospital, and the medical-examiner who signs the death certificates," Giulia said softly. She glanced at Damon; she didn't mind telling Damon things, but she wouldn't give him names to start a hit-list. "A local minister… One of the news-reporters." Giulia sighed heavily, going through her textbook. "You've studied Shakespeare, haven't you? You've read _The Tempest_?"

"Of course," Damon smirked. "When I was your age a classical education was still all the rage."

"Mm. Back when the concept of History extended past 1607 A.D.," Giulia sighed.

"Oh, listen to you, so _condescending_," Damon chuckled, smirking. "Have you thought about college yet? You've only got a year before applications start having to be submitted. Have you been thinking any more about studying abroad?"

"I'm always thinking about it," Giulia admitted softly. She hadn't told her dad; the thought of leaving him behind in Mystic Falls for three years—she knew that European degrees took three years of concerted study rather than the four years an American BA dictated—physically pained her. And there were very few things Zach Salvatore had in his life; she would never want to do anything that would deprive him of one of them. Her.

She knew if she mentioned she wanted to study at university in Florence, her mother's birthplace and her family's ancestral seat, her dad would support her wholeheartedly, do anything he could to help her realise her dream. But that would leave him here, alone. In sixteen years, Giulia had never known her father to look at a woman, she doubted her moving 4,000 miles away to go to school would prompt him to do so to fill the emptiness.

Despite Giulia, her father was what Henry Higgins described as a 'confirmed old bachelor'. He liked his house quiet, his scotch aged, smoky but silky, and unfettered access to his favourite books.

"Well, if you need any help, I can find you a great place to live there," Damon said. "Within sight of the Duomo—walking-distance from the Uffizi."

"Now you're teasing," Giulia smiled. She eyed Damon, still combing Cherry Jam's hair. "You know, Caroline gave me that doll, for my eighth birthday."

"Did she then?" Damon said disinterestedly.

"I've been…meaning to talk to you about Caroline," Giulia said carefully.

"Oh really?" Damon smirked, eyes on the doll. "Wouldn't have anything to do with you wanting me to feed Caroline my blood to heal away any evidence head-of-the-Founders'-Council _Sheriff Mom_ might notice."

Giulia let out a breath. "You've been reading my diary," she said, shaking her head. She dislodged Firenze from her foot and climbed off the sofa, abandoning her books to climb onto the bed next to Damon. "She's my best-friend, Damon. She's neurotic and chatty and a little obnoxious, but she's been my best-friend since we were six."

"I know that! I took you to your first day of school with Zach!" Damon said indignantly. "I _taught_ you how to the throw the punch you slugged Vicki Donovan with when she tripped up pretty little Caroline." Giulia sighed, hugging her teddy-bear.

"Damon," she said softly, eyeing him.

"_What_?" Damon replied, quirking an eyebrow at her.

"I don't mind you feeding on her," Giulia said softly, and honestly; she knew Damon compelled Caroline to forget the moments of hurt when he pierced her skin with his fangs… "But please just don't treat her like she's just a vein to tap."

"How so?"

"She's my friend, and she's a seventeen-year-old girl," Giulia said. "She's sensitive…please don't treat her badly. I know she's your fake, compelled girlfriend, but _she_ believes it's real. And she'll hurt when you get bored of her and move on—because all boys so far have."

Damon rolled his eyes. "She's young. She'll get over it."

"Damon," Giulia said, fixing him with a stern look. "Caroline is my best-friend, and since you are my _cousin_, it'll put me in a very tetchy situation if you dump Caroline in a bad way." Damon sighed heavily, letting his head fall back against a pillow.

"Breakup politics," he sighed. "You want me to pull back from Caroline?" Giulia glanced at Damon.

"Who will you feed from if you stop seeing her?"

"I'll find another donor," Damon smirked, winking. "Someone you'll approve of… I need someone older…more mature."

"You always did like the older vintages," Giulia murmured, and Damon grunted softly.

"Exactly, they taste better," Damon yawned. Giulia followed suit, burrowing down into the pillows, tired. "What's wrong with you? Tired?"

"Mm," Giulia grunted. "School is draining me."

"Not to mention Stefan's self-righteousness," Damon sighed, exasperated. As Giulia started to doze comfortably, Damon poked her gently. "Giulia?"

"Mm?"

"I need you to tell me what the Founders' Council knows," Damon said softly, his hushed tone laced with urgency.

"They think they've got _one_ vampire in town," Giulia sighed, sitting up a little straighter, but her eyes were tired, and Firenze had launched himself onto the bed, now curled up against her side, purring softly. "The radius of the wounds, the jaw pattern you imprinted on the victims, they're all consistent."

"I guess that's good, they don't think there's too big a threat, they'll be underprepared," Damon said to himself, and that triggered something in Giulia's mind. _Underprepared? For what?_ "Any weapons?"

"Stakes," Giulia shrugged. "But they have to _find_ a vampire first. They've searched abandoned buildings and the natural caverns on the edge of town." Damon snorted. Giulia knew that, in a strange town, Damon preferred to find the most expensive bank-owned foreclosure and squat there. "They'll have to assume that _the vampire_ must be living in a private residence."

"Hard to track," Damon said. He glanced at her. There was a small smile playing on his lips, and he reached out to dust his finger against the tip of her nose in an affectionate little touch. "My little informant."

"I'm a traitor. A rat," Giulia grimaced guiltily, eyes widening. "I'm a _rat_. Rats deserve to die!"

"You don't deserve to die," Damon said softly, a small smile on his lips. "You're protecting your family." Giulia raised an eyebrow; her dad believed Damon thought of their 'family' in very broad terms, that his vampiric nature had twisted and warped his perception of familial loyalty.

"They're using the Founders' Party to eliminate potential suspects," Giulia said, glancing up at Damon, whose enigmatic eyes glowed.

"Oh, _really_?!" He paused, looking introspective. "Well I guess I'll have to make myself pretty and saunter around the Mayor's house, then. Start hob-knobbing with the local elites."

"The best defence is a great offence," Giulia said. "Or so I'm told."

"It is," Damon nodded. "How're they gonna eliminate suspects exactly?"

"Anyone who arrives during the day is automatically discounted as a vampire," Giulia sighed gently, and Damon chuckled, flashing his white teeth, genuinely amused; his lapis lazuli ring shone on his middle-finger. "What I don't understand is that the Founders knew some of the vampires walked around in the sun—Katherine did, so did the female vampire named Pearl that Jonathan Gilbert was in love with… But I didn't read any mention of that in the journals."

"I guess by the time the Founders had rounded up all the vampires, well… Stefan saw to it they didn't last long after the fire," Damon yawned. In his 'youth' Stefan had been far worse than Damon ever had been. His nefariousness now was nothing to Stefan's Ripper phases. "Guess they didn't have time to set the record straight."

"That's good news for you," Giulia said thoughtfully. "They won't expect their vampire to be strutting around town at midday in leather pants, ready to go for a drink at the Grill."

"Midday? Come on, you know I at least try to hit the three p.m. mark before I start drinking," Damon said, and Giulia shot him a look, smiling. "Okay, so I slip up sometimes and day-drink! Who's judging?"

"I suppose there aren't many rules when you're a vampire," Giulia sighed, then yawned. Damon grunted.

"Just the ones set down by judgy little witches," he pouted, combing Cherry Jam's hair again.

"Are witches judgemental?"

"Toward vampires, absolutely!"

"How many witches have you known?"

"More than a few, over the years," Damon smirked subtly.

"How many of them did you sleep with?" Giulia asked drily, correctly interpreting his expression.

"More than a few, over the years," Damon smirked, eyes glowing, and Giulia laughed.

"So why are they judgemental toward vampires?" Giulia asked curiously.

"As best I figure it, from what I know about vampire history, witches are the servants of nature. Vampires are abominations, created by magic many centuries ago," Damon yawned. "It's a long story for a night when you don't have physics homework to do."

"Vampires were created by magic?" Giulia said softly.

"We had to start somewhere," Damon shrugged. Giulia scoffed gently.

"_Creation_. I forgot Darwin's _evolution_ wasn't very popular when you were young," Giulia smirked, and laughed when Damon tickled her.

"Just know that the vampire bloodline began with the Originals," Damon said. "They were the first to experience the strengths of the vampires—and realise the weaknesses. Sunlight, stakes, fire, threshold blocks, vervain—above all, bloodlust. The witches believe in balance. All nature must have balance. The vampires' weaknesses ensure that, so we can't just run rampant over the world. Whatever magic created the vampire bloodline also ensured the weaknesses most vampires suffer with."

"Like sunlight," Giulia nodded. "But a witch can also fortify vampires against their natural weaknesses."

"Exactly. The sun-rings Emily Bennett made for Stefan and me," Damon said, indicating his chunky ring, with its Florentine crest dating back to the early Renaissance.

"Did all of the vampires in 1864 have the ability to walk in the sun?" Giulia asked curiously.

"Most," Damon shrugged. "I didn't know all of them personally."

"How many were there, back then?"

"Twenty-seven," Damon sighed.

"That many?"

"In a town drastically smaller in size," Damon yawned subtly. "They weren't exactly subtle about being in town, when they were picking off the locals one-by-one to feed on."

"Did any escape?" Giulia asked curiously.

"Mm. One, I think," he said softly, scowling. "One of the vampires had a daughter. Name of Annabel; Emily told us after we'd transitioned that she'd helped her flee while the church still burned. Her mother was inside."

"Her real mother?"

"Mother and daughter, both turned," Damon sighed, glancing at Giulia. "Together for eternity." A vampire mother and daughter, promised an eternity together…what she wouldn't have given for a _day _with her mother. Damon sighed. "So. The Founders' Party. You gonna invite this Noah guy who asked you out?" Giulia glanced at Damon, eyeing him shrewdly.

"No, I don't think so," she said, sighing softly, resting back against her pillows.

"Why not? Still hung over that Lockwood dick?" Damon asked. Giulia smirked up at her bedroom-ceiling.

"Funny you put it that way," she said, and laughed when Damon grimaced, then tickled her.

"Okay, so, you and me are gonna hang out, right?" Damon asked. "You're gonna introduce me to everyone?"

"I will," Giulia nodded.

"Know what you're gonna wear yet?" Damon asked, his expression on the border of smirking. He knew Giulia didn't 'plan ahead' when it came to outfits, especially _dresses_. She did wear a lot of them, casual ones, ones she could just slip off the hanger and tug on after a shower. But for Founders' events, when she had to dress up semi-formally? She had allowed Caroline to steer her through the mall when she needed something new and formal, but she still wasn't a girly-girl like Caroline. "Right."

"Hey, um… I just remembered…Stefan said there might be trunks of old dresses belonging to Grandma Doll in the attic," Giulia said. "I forgot about them when we were up there looking for things for the Heritage Project."

"Oh, yeah, Doll was gorgeous," Damon grinned. "Always looked beautiful."

"Thank you, by the way…for helping me with the Heritage Project," Giulia said, and Damon winked subtly. "I really appreciate it. And…Katherine's dresses. You don't mind that they're going to be part of the display, do you?"

"Well, they're not all Katherine's. Most of them belonged to Alice," Damon said, and his voice turned soft and a little husky, _sad_.

Alice Salvatore.

Giulia's great-great-great-great-grandmother.

She had died young, barely twenty-one, after complications giving birth to her only child, Zachariah Salvatore.

Damon's son.

Damon was Giulia's great-great-great-great-grandfather.

Damon didn't talk about Alice very much; she belonged to the part of his life before Katherine had come in and destroyed his relationship with his brother, caused the death of his father, condemned him to an eternity of suffering, longing for the undying woman he had seen killed in a blaze of fire.

What he had told Giulia about Alice, she kept a hold of. Alice had been sweet, intelligent, and gentle; but she had been fiercely loyal to Damon, and had loved to dance. They had been betrothed when Alice was eighteen, and they had married on her twentieth birthday. Her wedding-dress was one of the pieces Giulia wanted to give Mrs Lockwood for the Heritage Project, because it was _stunning_. There was also a portrait of the beautiful Alice Salvatore, almost Winterhalter in its romantic technique; Giulia had her nose. And Alice's Brussels lace veil, passed down from her own grandmother, and the jewellery Damon had given her on their engagement, to wear on their wedding-day, were to be displayed, along with several watercolours of Damon and Stefan as boys, painted by their mother, her wedding-ring, a jewelled snuffbox, a brooch, a painted silk fan from 1862 (the date etched into the silver and mother-of-pearl handle) and the papers and medals of Damon Salvatore, Confederate soldier.

Damon claimed that Alice was the first and purest love of his life.

Katherine was the _greatest_.

"…and for a hundred and forty-five years I have _obsessed_ over how to bring her back," Damon yawned. Giulia glanced at Damon.

"Bring her back?"

"You should know by now the world's a far more mysterious place than it seems," Damon smiled lazily. "The potential's out there for anything." Giulia gazed at Damon.

_Bring her back_… _Was there_ the potential to resurrect Katherine? Could he do it?

"Wouldn't she come back…altered?" Giulia asked. "I've seen _Practical_ _Magic_." Damon chuckled; so had he. He loved young Nicole Kidman. And he loved drunken witches; _Practical Magic_ was a perfect combination on movie-night.

"After a hundred and forty-five years of isolation?" Damon murmured. "Absolutely she'll be altered."

_A hundred and forty-five years of isolation?_ Giulia thought. Where was Katherine? How could Damon 'bring her back'?

_Penny drops…_ Mystic Falls.

She must still be in Mystic Falls. But how?

She had burned in the fire…

* * *

**A.N.**: Anyone who's read my other stories knows I'm a bit notorious for 'saving' characters who die in canon. I didn't like the Alaric/alter-ego storyline at all—although I will admit, I bawled like a baby when everyone was stood outside the mausoleum. And I have come up with an _ingenious_ way to keep Jenna alive.

I keep wondering why the Salvatore brothers _left the moonstone with Katherine _when they dumped her in the tomb! I mean, honestly! You can tell there's no strong female lead to remind people to use common-sense! Hermione would never stand for any of Elena's self-righteous martyrdom bullshit!

Oh, and has anybody noticed how _old_ Nina Dobrev looks in season four? Paul Wesley too? The exquisite Mr Somerhalder is the only one who ages prettily!


	8. Couture and Vodka-Coke

**A.N.**: Anybody notice all the drama surrounding Elena's inability to feed except from the vein, blaming it on her 'doppelganger blood', yet _Katherine_ drank from blood-bags, and Kat was the _original_ doppelganger! Just trying to make Elena more and more special. Special as a 'human', special as a vampire. Mary Sue.

Anyone else think it was a serious faux-pas killing off Jenna? And Alaric? (I wept. Seriously. And then I sobbed some more when Damon was sat talking to ghost-Alaric in the cemetery and Alaric said 'Miss you too, buddy'). With the show's focus on _family_, (at least the Originals' warped preoccupation with it) shouldn't they have, I don't know, _NOT killed Elena and Jeremy's only family_? John was a dick so I don't mind him being dead, but there was no need to kill Jenna. They really could have developed Jenna and Alaric's relationship into a _family_ with Elena and Jeremy, especially since Elena is Alaric's pseudo stepdaughter anyway through Isobel!

* * *

**Drunken Binges, Funerals and Formals**

_08_

_Couture and Vodka-Coke_

* * *

"Hey, kiddo," her dad smiled, and Giulia dropped into the study, carrying a printout of her latest English Lit paper. He always proofread her assignments for her. Due to her habit of journaling and reading a lot of incredibly complex literature, she had developed what her English teachers called an incredibly eloquent, adult style of writing.

Wednesday-evening, fresh from dance practice and a meeting with the Daughters of Mystic Falls about their Fall fundraisers, she had showered, her hair blow-dried in silky, fragrant locks around her shoulders with their natural curl, and she felt less-tired than she had all day. Though the weather was starting to turn, the evenings still fell later, around nine o'clock, though she knew by Halloween they'd be turning the lights on at half-past four every day.

"_The Tempest_?" her dad said, as she handed him the essay.

"I'm so glad we don't have to rehash _Romeo and Juliet_ again this semester," she yawned subtly.

"Isn't _Romeo and Juliet_ the choice for this semester's play?" her dad asked.

"Mm. Which explains why I'm not auditioning," Giulia said, though that was only the half of it. Auditioning for a part in the school-play, any production, required a certain measure of confidence, and she was at heart a shy girl. Beyond fighting Caroline for the position of Junior Representative on the Historical Society's Board, Giulia had never put herself forward for anything that would put her in the limelight. She had only applied for the JR position with the Historical Society because she loved history. And Caroline wasn't interested in the Historical Society beyond the parties. So for Giulia to go out for a part in the school's drama department for _any_ production would be a huge step for her. Considering it was again _Romeo and Juliet_ this Fall, she wasn't going to bother, no matter what Caroline said about _putting herself forward_.

"Well, that's a shame," her dad sighed. "You were so good as First Star in the Nativity." Giulia rolled her eyes, smiling.

"I was five."

"Your performance was worthy of awards," her dad chuckled. Giulia sighed; her dad had _videotaped_ her singing during the Nativity at their local church. Back when they'd bothered attending. "So, you want me to proofread this?"

"Yes, please," Giulia smiled, and her dad nodded.

"So, listen, kiddo—I might have to go out of town for a few days," he said, glancing up at her.

"Oh. How come?" Her dad almost _never_ went out of town. If he did, it was for business; but it was never for very long.

"Just some business I've got to take care of," he smiled warmly. "Nothing for you to worry about. But anyway, I was going to ask Liz whether she'd mind you staying with her and Caroline while I'm gone." Giulia glanced at her dad.

"What about Damon?"

"I'd really prefer if you stayed with the Forbes," her dad said softly, and Giulia nodded; she would respect that he wanted to do all he could, within his abilities, to keep her safe from what he thought was a real and very present danger.

"Okay," she said softly.

"Okay? Good. So, I'll be leaving Saturday, so if you want to get a bag packed," her dad said.

"How long will you be gone?" Giulia asked.

"About a week," her dad said, and she nodded. "I'll get this back to you in a bit."

When Giulia had left the room, Zach read and edited the essay she had given him to proofread. As always his daughter's eloquence in putting forth her arguments and the adult way she wrote staggered him, made him feel proud to know such an incredibly talented young-woman. He wished he could have done more to protect her, that she had never had to grow up with the knowledge that sometimes things that went bump in the night really were monsters, that they were real; he wished he hadn't had to teach her how to make sure they didn't hurt her.

He wished she could have grown up in a world where she didn't know about vampires, where her home could at any moment turn into a playground for two of them, bringing fear and danger into a place that should have been safe.

He set the essay down on his desk, sighed, and reached for several sheets of paper from the printer tucked neatly on a polished sideboard. He started writing, struggling to put his thoughts down as eloquently as his daughter would have been able to… Stefan returned home as he continued writing, and, glimpsing Zach's moist eyes, the way he cleared his throat and hid the papers, he paused, frowned, and Zach sighed and came clean. Of the two vampiric brothers, no matter what Giulia thought, Zach would always trust the younger over his sociopathic brother.

"I want to show you where I keep my will…"

Sat in the Lockwood's informal sitting-room, on the leather-sofa she and Tyler used to roll around on, bringing up all sorts of memories, Giulia sighed and worked in her sketchbook, grunting as her phone started singing _Lady Gaga_, 'Boys, Boys, Boys'; Caroline's ringtone. Answering the call, she clamped her _Blackberry_ Torch between her ear and shoulder, still sketching.

"Hey, Car," she said lightly.

"_Giulia_?" Caroline asked, and Giulia frowned.

"What's wrong? You're upset."

"_See, that's why I love you, I don't have to say one thing and you know instantly that something is up_!" Caroline blurted tearfully.

"What's wrong?"

"_Damon!_" Caroline croaked. "_He says he wants things to cool off a little between us!_"

"Cool off?"

"_Yeah—which is basically the guy way of saying 'I need some space'_," Caroline sniffed. "_He says he's too old for me, that I deserve to let guys my age see how amazing I am… I didn't believe him for a second!_ _He's just trying to get rid of me_!"

"Caroline, I'm sure that's not true," Giulia said softly, guilt churning her insides like a bad hangover.

"_Why wouldn't it be? He's older and sexy and self-confident_," Caroline sniffed. "_And I'm a mess, I put my foot in my mouth all the time, I'm insecure, I boss people around…_"

"Caroline," Giulia sighed. "All that might be true—" Caroline sniffed and laughed tearfully. "But you are beautiful, and you are sweet, you're my best-friend in the entire world. Any guy should realise how amazing you are while he's with you, otherwise he doesn't deserve you."

Caroline sighed. "_I know. You're right_." Giulia smiled.

"I know I'm right." Giulia smiled to herself. Caroline sighed.

"_Damon said he'd see me at the Founders' Party. He said he's escorting you, and he wants me to have fun at the party with whoever I want, just in case I meet someone else…no strings…_"

"Monogamy is a modern development," Giulia remarked idly. "Back in our tribal era, the women used to take multiple partners. Protection of her was the responsibility of the collective."

"_Well, in that case, I will go 10,000 B.C. on Mystic Falls and start an orgy_," Caroline replied drily. "_Maybe right in the Lockwoods' ballroom_."

"That would loosen a few ties," Giulia chuckled.

"_Speaking of—what are you wearing to the party_?" Caroline asked, and Giulia smiled; she sounded back to normal. "_If I'm supposed to be playing the field, I need a wing-woman. We have to discuss accessories, hair, nails, makeup…_"

"Caroline," Giulia grunted softly, grimacing.

"_Sorry, I know you only deal with girly stuff in tiny doses_," Caroline said, laughing indulgently, and Giulia smiled. "_Well, I guess you'll have to get sexy for the party in your own non-girly way_."

"I'll do my best," Giulia said, smiling.

"_Hey, where are you, anyway_?" Caroline asked.

"I'm at the Lockwoods'," Giulia sighed, glancing at the door.

"_What? Giulia—why are you there? You're—you're not getting back with Tyler, are you? Come on, you're better than that! He doesn't deserve a second chance—_"

"Caroline!" Giulia sighed. "I'm just waiting for Mrs Lockwood to get home; I promised I'd help put the finishing touches to the Heritage Project."

"_Okay, just—just remember; you don't get a second opportunity to screw Giuliette Salvatore_," Caroline said sternly.

"I think you mean you don't get a second opportunity to screw _with_ Giulia Salvatore," Giulia chuckled to herself.

"_Sure_," Caroline said lightly. Giulia heard heels clicking on the parquet floor and glanced at the door.

"I'd better go, I think Mrs Lockwood is home," Giulia said softly.

"_We'll talk later? You can tell me what kind of a woman Damon likes so I can get him back_," Caroline said. Giulia bit her lip.

"We'll talk later and I can tell you what kind of a man you deserve," Giulia said, and Caroline laughed.

"_Yeah, okay, we can talk about our perfect man_," she said agreeably.

"Before you go, say it back to me."

"_Say what_?"

"You know."

Caroline sighed, sounding like she was smiling as she recited, "_You are intelligent. You are beautiful. You are loved_… Bye, Juju."

Giulia smiled sadly. "Bye, Lyly." As she hung up, Mrs Lockwood clicked into the study.

"Giulia! You're here!" she beamed.

"Marian let me in, I hope you don't mind me waiting in here," Giulia said, sitting up a little straighter.

"You know you're always welcome here," Mrs Lockwood smiled. "You haven't been waiting too long?"

"No, not long; I've just been sketching, catching up on some homework," Giulia said, indicating her sketchbook.

"Mm, you know, you're already missed in this house; we've had to fight with Tyler to come home early from the gym to do his homework," Mrs Lockwood sighed. "I hope you don't mind, I'd like to have a cup of tea before we get to work."

"Have you had a long day?"

"All this planning for the Founders' Party…ten months' effort all for one evening," Mrs Lockwood sighed, smiling.

"The party is always wonderful," Giulia said honestly, and Mrs Lockwood smiled as she used the intercom to contact her housekeeper in the kitchen.

"Well, this year I hope you girls in the Daughters of Mystic Falls don't mind taking a more active part in helping the Founders put together the anniversary gala," Mrs Lockwood smiled.

"Of course," Giulia smiled softly. Mrs Lockwood's housekeeper appeared, bearing the family's 'casual' tea-service, and Giulia had a cup of tea with Mrs Lockwood. It was a tradition they had always shared; as a child, Giulia had been without a mother. At Founders events that incorporated the 'mother-daughter' element, Liz Forbes used to take Giulia along with Caroline. And every Christmas and birthday Giulia received a 'girly' gift from Mrs Lockwood alongside the real gift, things only a mother would pick out for gifts.

When Giulia and Tyler had inevitably bridged that awkward place between friends and something else, Mrs Lockwood had been thrilled. A Founding Daughter, polite and warm, talented, Giulia was everything Mrs Lockwood believed her son deserved in a future wife.

Now that Giulia had dumped Tyler over the 'tawdry' issue with Vicki Donovan, Mrs Lockwood regretted losing Giulia as a surrogate daughter. But as Giulia had increasingly proving herself unique amongst her friends, being incredibly mature, she and Mrs Lockwood had become friends. Giulia still called her Mrs Lockwood as a mark of respect, but she was willing to bet that later in life they would be able to address each other on equal terms.

Now Giulia was the Junior Representative on the Historical Society's committee, by Caroline dubbed Mrs Lockwood's "little minion", and Giulia had been helping set up the Heritage Project. The artefacts Giulia had found, with both her dad and with Damon's help, were arranged and labelled, a dress-form at the top of the sweeping staircase displaying the exquisite 1862 periwinkle-silk wedding-dress of Alice, with its deep off-the-shoulder V-neckline and _tiny_ waist, the silk flowers at the bust, the cinched shoulders, the tiny velvet-trimmed waist and cascading to the hem of the train, panels of lace swathed at the neckline. A stunning deep-navy sapphire brooch, rectangular in shape and little more than an inch tall, had been worn at the apex of the V-neckline, with a diamond necklace Damon had given to Alice with a pair of matching earrings, and a string of pearls belonging to Alice's mother. These were arranged on a velvet display. Papers and antique photographs, the watercolours of Damon and Stefan as children, Alice's portrait, other artefacts, Damon's medals, his mother's writing-box, signet rings belonging to Giuseppe Salvatore, a jewellery-box and the enamelled snuffbox, were all arranged in glass-topped display cabinets, which were then arranged neatly around the 'public' rooms of the Lockwood mansion.

When Giulia was relieved of 'nitpicking duty' by Mrs Lockwood, she drove home, discovering Damon in a relatively good mood with a bottle of his favourite scotch, Cherry Jam and Giulia's DVD-player on, watching _A Place in the Sun_.

"God, I love Shelley Winters," he sighed, handing Giulia a tumbler of scotch.

"You know she plays Nana Mary in _Roseanne_," Giulia said, sipping the amber liquid; it was beautiful, subtly smoky but smooth, decadent. "One of my favourite characters."

"Yeah, I watched that show religiously," Damon yawned. "Nothin' much else to do during the Nineties."

"Go to Spice Girls concerts," Giulia smirked.

"I repeat…nothin' much else to do," Damon said, smiling. "Where've you been?"

"Over at Lockwood Manor, helping Mrs Lockwood set up," Giulia said.

"No plans tonight?"

"No, dance was cancelled tonight; Stuart and Faith are going on vacation," Giulia sighed.

"Bummer."

"Mm."

"Well, I guess we'll just have to stay in and watch a movie or something," Damon yawned.

"You're not going to the Grill for a drink?"

"Got a drink right here. Better-quality than you can get at the Grill, too," Damon grunted. "I know—wanna watch _The Birds_?"

"Sure," Giulia smiled. "I have to do some homework too, though."

"Ugh. What?"

"Math," Giulia sighed. "And Physics…tough."

"Yeah. Physics is…tough," Damon frowned, dragging Giulia's Physics textbook toward him, propping it up in his lap as Giulia grabbed her copy of _The Tempest_ to annotate and highlight. When _A Place in the Sun _ended with Shelley Winters' spectacular drowning, Damon slipped the disc for _The Birds_ into the DVD-player, and they sat, propped up on the sofa, covered in blankets, textbooks, highlighters, tumblers of scotch and Firenze, who preened and purred all over Damon, who sat stroking the cat idly while he watched _The_ _Birds_. "You know, Stef's been a bit of a cheap cop-out with this whole high-school thing."

"How so?"

"Well, here you are, doing AP English Lit, poring over Shakespeare, getting ready to tackle Sir Isaac Newton and about to curse Pythagoras for his theorems," Damon sighed. "You've got two Language lessons a day and two electives, and Stef sits in P.E. and weight-lifting for his ill-fated football team."

"You know he chose most of his classes because Elena's schedule is similar," Giulia said, rolling her eyes slightly; she'd seen the same thing happen on _The O.C._, and it hadn't ended well.

"Yeah, I saw that on _The O.C._," Damon sighed, and Giulia raised her eyebrows, glancing at him. "What?"

"I was just thinking the same thing," she smiled.

"Summer Roberts," Damon sighed. "Now she'd make a tasty little appetiser." Giulia chuckled, shaking her head.

"Hey…" She glanced at Damon, her pencil stilling as she worked through her math homework equations.

"Mm?"

"About Caroline…" Damon glanced over at her, scratching Firenze's ears and making him purr loudly.

"You're welcome," he said, with a tiny smile. He sighed, glancing around; _The Birds_ was approaching its end, and he sipped his scotch thoughtfully. "Have you got anything to read?"

"Hm? Oh. Yes. There should be some Pynchon over there, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, JRR Tolkien—oh, and I finished reading _Wuthering Heights_," Giulia said, smiling.

"How'd you like Brontë?"

"I can't believe I'd not read it before," Giulia smiled sadly. "'_I cannot live without my soul_…' The novel is exquisite… I won't tell you who Heathcliff reminded me of."

"Ouch!" Damon chuckled, tickling her side. "Well, I guess I do have my own Catherine Earnshaw."

"Mm," Giulia nodded. She eyed Damon, the bottle he was refilling his tumbler with. "What's with the bottle, anyway?"

"You know alcohol helps curve the kill-innocent-people cravings," Damon said lightly.

"You're day-drinking," Giulia pointed out.

"I'm early-evening-drinking. Okay, so, I'm trying to go a little lower-profile," Damon yawned. "The less I feed, the more I drink to compensate."

"I see," Giulia nodded. "Will you be living off blood-bags?" Damon grimaced.

"I prefer my meals at 98.6," he sighed. "But I'll take the chilled stuff when I have to…which means I have to actually acquire some. Wouldn't happen to have a schedule for local blood-drives?"

"Sorry," Giulia smiled.

"Oh well," Damon sighed, stretching luxuriously.

"Go back… _Lost Girl_ is on!" Giulia said, glancing up at the television now that the movie had ended, and they were flipping through channels; Damon, remote in-hand, had stumbled over _SyFy_. He pulled up the information.

"A _marathon_," he said, raising his eyebrows thoughtfully. "Never watched this show before."

"You'll love it—it's all about a succubus," Giulia beamed. She had a girl-crush on Kenzi, who was the complete opposite to Giulia's personality, but there were moments, usually instigated and encouraged by Damon, where Giulia was as eccentric and outgoing as Kenzi. So, while Giulia did her homework, then retrieved her sketchbook, she and Damon watched the _Lost_ _Girl_ marathon, starting with the very first episode. Giulia found interesting parallels between _Lost Girl_ and real-world vampires; the attitude toward humans was that they were for feeding off of. That was it. Except Giulia, whom Damon had taken special interest in protecting and befriending, similar to Bo's claim over Kenzi as 'her' human to keep her safe.

"Okay, _I_ have a new favourite show," Damon declared, nursing another scotch, scratching Firenze, curled up on his stomach.

Giulia liked quiet evenings like these; when Damon had had enough of succubus Bo's cleavage, they turned the television off and put Giulia's stereo on, channelling her favourite iPod playlist. Her homework finished, Giulia enjoyed sharing a scotch with Damon while he helped hone her musical tastes, by telling her which bands she should look up, which particular albums, and whether she could find the vinyls in Stefan's collection. They talked about novels, her art electives, the date she hadn't yet accepted or rejected from Noah Grayson, and especially, Elena.

Damon wanted to know if Elena put on the same act as Katherine, sweet on the outside, raging vampire-bitch on the inside. Giulia didn't know about 'raging vampire-bitch' but she was honest with Damon; "Elena can be a bit… Icy."

"How so?"

"She just gets _cold_. Rude. And, perhaps more so since her parents were killed, she takes everything so personally," Giulia sighed. Elena had once been happy-go-lucky, cheerful, still feisty and a bit annoying in her self-righteousness, her demands for complete honesty and lectures on trust—demanding it while never _really_ bestowing it on anybody—but a good friend. She was Bonnie's best-friend first and foremost; Giulia and Caroline were the other pair, chalk and cheese.

"Personally, how?"

"If she finds out you fibbed over something, she'll be really rude and judgemental," Giulia said. "Even if it's none of her business. She'll be really _cold_ with you."

"So you're basically saying, Elena Gilbert's the school busybody," Damon remarked, and Giulia shrugged gently.

"She's not always like that," Giulia said faithfully, feeling a bit repentant for speaking badly about her friend. "Most of the time she's a warm person, you know, very caring. But if she's trying to shut you out…you could die of frostbite."

"Typical female tactics," Damon flicked his eyebrows up. "I prefer yours."

"Mine?"

"Noticed the canoe's got a few fresh scars," Damon said, sliding a glance her way, and Giulia sighed, sinking into her seat-cushion. "Over that Tyler Lockwood guy?"

"Yeah," Giulia sighed. "Better I take an axe to the canoe than him, right."

"Combined with your MMA training I'd say you've got an excellent handle on channelling your darker emotions in a healthy, almost non-destructive way," Damon smirked, and Giulia chuckled. "If only vampires had self-help seminars, could've put Stefan on the track to moderation years ago."

"You mean when he was the Ripper?" Giulia murmured, and Damon grunted softly.

"He's determined to spend his existence pursuing one extreme then the other," he yawned. "Amusing for me, when he inevitably caves and starts feasting, and when he 'sobers up' and the self-loathing starts to creep up on him…but a little predictable."

"Perhaps Sage should have _tutored_ him, too," Giulia suggested, and Damon smirked.

"I didn't enjoy the feed; Stefan always lost himself in the pleasure of it," he said thoughtfully. "Sage could help me find ecstasy in being a vampire—she couldn't rein Stefan onto the wagon. And I couldn't be bothered… No, that was always Lexi." He sighed, resting his head against the back of the sofa-cushion.

Giulia, tired, ready to go to bed after homework, intense MMA training after cheerleading practice, an early dinner and some scotch, yawned, curling up on the sofa under several blankets, and Damon eyed her. "Come on, little girl…" He lifted her, one arm curled under her knees, the other banded around her back, and carried her over to her bed, tucking her in as he would have when she was a child. Dozing off almost immediately, Giulia murmured, "I like it when you're home…"

She was vaguely aware of fingertips smoothing a lock of hair from her face as she burrowed under her covers, relaxing in the warmth and softness, and the lights dimmed before there was a soft _click_…and she was asleep.

* * *

"Okay, so, these are the potential choices for my Founders' Party outfit," Caroline said chirpily; Giulia yawned subtly, lounging on Caroline's bed, hugging a pillow. "Delicate rose; feisty vixen; sultry femme fatale." One dress was a dusky lilac, with tiny straps and a sweetheart neckline; the 'femme fatale' choice was a deep purple halter-dress with a plunging neckline and a skirt that flared from the waist. The 'vixen' choice was totally Caroline; a multicoloured leopard-print strapless silk mini-dress with pleated details. It was colourful, it was fun, and just the right amount of sexy. Giulia had never seen Caroline wear it, though she knew it had been an expensive purchase.

"Mm… The vixen?" Giulia said, glancing at Bonnie, who eyed the dresses and nodded.

"Definitely the vixen," she agreed, smiling.

"I guess it doesn't really matter anyway," Caroline sighed. "Only Elena has an actual _date_ to the party."

"Come on, you know you'll have way more fun without Damon dragging you back from the dance-floor," Bonnie pointed out, smiling. "Last year you made out with five different guys—and you had sex in the folly with another one!"

"I suppose I could try and outdo my last record," Caroline said thoughtfully.

"See, that's the spirit…sort of," Bonnie chuckled.

"So, Bonnie, what're you wearing to the party?"

"My pale floral halter," Bonnie smiled. "Layered necklaces, half up-do."

"Fabulous!" Caroline grinned.

"Giulia, what're you gonna wear?" Bonnie smiled.

"Don't even bother, Bon!" Caroline chuckled. "I've already tried. You know Giulia will show up looking like she belongs on the red-carpet. You're the _only_ girl I know who can just throw something on and look insanely beautiful."

"Caroline," Giulia sighed, blushing softly.

"I mean, it's only because you never put any effort in normally that it's so _stunning_ when you show up looking like a Bond Girl," Caroline said, playing with her hair in front of her mirror, seeing the effect of different styles.

"Thanks, Caroline," Giulia said softly, blushing again, as the backhanded compliment made Bonnie chuckle and shake her head. Caroline did like to put her foot in her mouth sometimes, and she didn't always realise it.

"So what should I do with my _hair_?" Caroline mused. "And my nails—I couldn't get an appointment at the salon, I'll have to do my own nails."

"Keep things simple," Giulia suggested quietly, eyeing Caroline's bedside cabinet where a selection of nail-polishes were collected in a little wicker bowl.

"Yeah, the dress will draw people's attention," Bonnie agreed, and Caroline smiled as she examined the strapless leopard-print dress. "And wear your hair down, it always looks best with a strapless neckline."

"So true," Caroline nodded.

"This colour," Giulia said, plucking a delicate pink _Essie_ polish from the collection of bottles.

"'Allure'," Caroline smiled, taking the bottle from Giulia. "Kate Middleton's favourite."

"With good reason," Giulia said, smiling softly.

"She has such flawless taste," Caroline sighed; a board full of inspiration for outfits that Caroline had put together from magazines featured a few photographs of the Duchess of Cambridge's fashion choices, especially the exquisite lace wedding-gown; Caroline had made Giulia get up at three in the morning to watch the Royal Wedding. "Very Grace Kelly."

"I love Grace Kelly," Giulia sighed. She and Damon differed on their labels; she loved Grace Kelly movies, he loved Hitchcock movies. They had watched a lot of _To Catch a Thief_ and _Rear_ _Window_ when Giulia was twelve.

"Hey, did you ever get back to Noah about your date?" Caroline asked, whirling around so her curls flew.

"Oh…no, not yet," Giulia blushed shyly.

"Noah asked you out—Noah Grayson?" Bonnie beamed. "Look at you! Where does he wanna take you?"

"I…I don't know, yet, I haven't answered him," Giulia sighed guiltily, flushing.

"Why not?" Bonnie said, giving her a reproving look.

"She's still hung up on Tyler," Caroline said, in a conspiratorial whisper.

"I am not!" Giulia protested, fidgeting. She had had several romps in the backseats of cars with other boys since dumping Tyler—three boys, at three different parties, no jeans removed; that was her rule. She didn't mind the idea of having to move on and perhaps spend time with other people…

"So what's the problem?" Bonnie half-laughed. Giulia sighed miserably.

"I've…never been on a date before," she admitted, sighing again. "I don't…know how to begin."

"What?" Caroline laughed. "Giulia, you dated Tyler since freshman-year."

"No, Giulia's right. She and Tyler only ever hung out," Bonnie said thoughtfully, gazing at Giulia. "And she knew Tyler since they were babies. It's not hard to be romantically close with someone after you've been friends all your life. It's a natural progression."

"Okay, so, what, you've not answered Noah because you're nervous?" Caroline guessed, smiling. "Giulia, you're a catch! Every guy at school knows it; Tyler's the only one who just never appreciated it." Giulia blushed, sitting up straighter against Caroline's wicker headboard.

"So you're nervous about going on a date, because you've never been on one before," Bonnie said. "Not because you don't want to go out on a date with Noah."

"Noah's…nice," Giulia said lamely, grimacing at herself; she sighed. She did like Noah a lot, she always had. She just hadn't realised he'd _more_ than liked her. Caroline said her feminine radar was severely underdeveloped due to her masculine upbringing, otherwise she would have realised that Noah and several other boys had been interested in her since she started wearing a D-cup.

"_Noah_ is an incredibly hot, sweet, sexy guy," Caroline grinned, "and you deserve to have someone _worship_ you the way Noah will, especially after what Tyler's put you through."

"Have you thought about what you're gonna wear?" Bonnie asked her. Giulia bit her lip, blushing gently.

"You know I'm not very good at that stuff," she said, blushing. She knew how to dress up for Founders' Society events, even if she reluctantly attended and only did so long enough that she and Tyler could make an appearance then disappear with a joint and a bottle of expensive scotch. And she knew how to get dressed up for a school-dance, mostly because she always got ready with Caroline and the girls, and Caroline wouldn't allow for Giulia to go out looking anything less than spectacular if she was going to scrapbook the photos. Going out with Tyler had never involved going out on dates or dressing up for some special occasion, so she had no idea what one wore on a date.

"Well, where did Noah suggest you two go out on your date?" Caroline asked. "Location is always key to choosing your outfit."

"That's true; you don't wanna be wearing stilettos and red lipstick if he's taking you to a ball-game," Bonnie said drily.

"Yeah, or showing up in jeans if he's taking you to a nice restaurant," Caroline added. Giulia sighed.

Giulia's go-to outfit staples were fitted jeans (not necessarily 'skinny' fit), detailed sweaters, fine gold jewellery and flats or Converses, or dresses with a jacket thrown over the top. If it was a slightly more special occasion, she would wear her purple-soled black glitter heels; for daytime Founders' Society events she would wear lighter colours, patterns and textures, but for evening parties she searched for richer hues, beautifully tailored simple dresses.

But a date? She had no idea where to begin. And Noah hadn't mentioned a destination for their proposed date; was Caroline right, was there couture decorum regarding dates?

"Things would be so much easier if our culture still put together arranged marriages," Giulia sighed, burrowing down on Caroline's bed, and Bonnie laughed.

"Then you'd be stuck with cheater Tyler," she pointed out.

"Yeah, you know Carol Lockwood already had the wedding-invitations embossed," Caroline giggled softly.

"I'm surprised Mrs Lockwood isn't trying to push Tyler to mend things with you," Bonnie said thoughtfully. "I wouldn't have thought she'd be too thrilled you dumped him."

"Mrs Lockwood loves her son, but she appreciates what he did crossed a line," Giulia said, sighing softly. She hadn't just lost her boyfriend when she dumped Tyler; she had lost one of her best-friends. She wouldn't be having this conversation about appropriate date-wear and hand-delivered wedding-invitations if Tyler had kept it in his pants…or if Giulia had been more forgiving…

"Do you think I might've been too quick to break up with Tyler?" she asked, glancing up from the pillow-edge she was fiddling with.

"Where'd that come from?" Bonnie asked, quirking an eyebrow, as Caroline hung her dress from the back of her closet-door.

"I was just…thinking…should I have been more forgiving of what he did?" she sighed.

"Giulia, you're like the most forgiving person we know," Caroline half-laughed, pulling Giulia into a sitting-position to take hold of her hand, opening a bottle of cuticle-softener, starting to give Giulia a manicure unasked. Giulia sat and let her do it.

"That's true," Bonnie nodded. Giulia eyed them dubiously.

"Yeah, I mean, come on, you _never_ hold a grudge," Caroline said, as she carefully pushed back and removed Giulia's cuticles with her little kit of torture instruments.

"So I have no conviction?" Giulia smiled sadly.

"_You_, have no conviction?!" Bonnie laughed. "You're _relentless_ in your conviction, Giulia!"

"She's right; you have _amazing_ self-control," Caroline nodded. "Although, you do tend to repress yourself."

"I do?"

"You're so shy, Giulia," Bonnie smiled. "We have to force you to put yourself out there." Giulia sighed softly, reflecting on that; shyness, reclusiveness, was definitely one of her worst traits. As for relentless conviction…they were in high-school; not mentioning that one of Tyler's friends had made a move on her wasn't the same as resisting torture for information on US armed forces. "I mean, we were all shocked it was you who broke up with Tyler, not the other way round. You always used to take his lead."

"I didn't always," Giulia said quietly.

"Well, okay, you always made him think when he was being a dick," Bonnie acquiesced. "But he wore the trousers, you know?"

"Yeah," Giulia sighed.

"Kinda weird, you managed to find an even bigger alpha male than you to go out with," Caroline chuckled, and Giulia quirked an eyebrow. "You know you're the most manly out of all of us." Giulia nodded, acquiescing. Girly Caroline, bohemian Bonnie, casual Elena, Giulia inhabited a lazy, borderline-feminine attitude toward most things.

"Yeah, you're _tough_," Bonnie smiled. Giulia chuckled softly, watching Caroline wipe the cuticle-softener off her fingertips with a tissue. Giulia was _tough_; she was quiet, calm, but fierce when needed. She wasn't afraid of the things that went bump in the night, so whenever the circuit-breaker shorted out, she was the one sent outside with a flashlight to set the fuse right again.

"I'm tough, but I'm not bold," Giulia said softly. She could take care of herself; but put herself in a position where she _needed_ to take care of herself? "Well…not unless I've done a few tequila shots."

"Now _that_ would get things going at the Founders' Party!" Caroline grinned. "Let's see who you sneak off with after a few drinks!"

"Oh, come on, you know Giulia's not the random hook-up kind of girl," Bonnie chuckled.

"Not sober she's not," Caroline smirked. "But I know for a fact she climbed into the backseat with Ben, Cade _and_ Jack." At Bonnie's raised eyebrows and incredulous expression, Giulia raised her hand as she would in class.

"I'd like to point out, I wasn't with them all at the same time," she said. "Though _that's_ an image that really gets me going." The girls burst into giggles as Giulia growled softly and clawed the air. Giulia heard footsteps, and Sheriff Forbes appeared, smiling to see them all laughing.

"Hi, girls," she smiled. "You starting the slumber-party early?"

"Just trying to figure out wardrobe-choices for the Founders' Party," Bonnie smiled.

"Well, I'm sure you'll all look beautiful," Sheriff Forbes smiled. "Uh, Caroline… I'll be late tonight; I've got to take a meeting."

"We've got to work on the carwash fundraiser for next weekend," Caroline said, almost tersely.

"Sexy Suds," Bonnie grinned at Sheriff Forbes.

"I'll let the guys at the precinct know," Sheriff Forbes winked.

"Twenty bucks a car!" Caroline said, gazing earnestly at her mother. "Tell the guys all the money goes to the athletic department, that should motivate 'em."

"Not the girls in bikinis?" Sheriff Forbes smiled.

"How come the money has to go to the football-team?" Giulia asked thoughtfully.

"It goes to the whole athletic-department," Caroline said.

"We all know that the football-team is the only one that actually gets any money spent on it," Giulia said, and Bonnie nodded. "Why can't they buy mats and punching-bags for the martial-arts team, or to start a ballroom-dancing society?"

"Because nobody at school does ballroom-dancing," Bonnie chuckled.

"Giulia does!"

"And Caroline loves watching _Strictly Come Dancing_ on BBC America," Giulia shot back at Caroline, smiling.

"Well, yeah, if they taught us the Argentine Tango instead of the line-dance during P.E., we'd definitely spend money on a sprung floor," Caroline beamed.

Sheriff Forbes, who had disappeared for a moment, returned, smiling. "I'll leave some pizza-money for you girls. Enjoy the rest of your night."

"Bye, Ms Forbes," Bonnie smiled, and Giulia waved; Sheriff Forbes winked and disappeared. Caroline used to tease that Elizabeth Forbes had gotten the wrong daughter; a strong, determined woman, Liz had always tried to get Caroline into softball, arms training to protect herself, but it was Giulia who used to like Liz taking them to the sports-park to practice their hitting, and when her father had started teaching her how to use his 'Kate' sniper-rifle, Giulia had gone to Sheriff Forbes to ask for lessons in shooting a 9mm. _Just in case_, she had told Sheriff Forbes at the time; she didn't want to be in a position where she didn't know how to defend herself with any weapon she had access to. Her father, a Marine (there was no such thing as an ex-Marine) had taught her how to wield a knife as a weapon without hurting herself, and she had started training Mixed Martial Arts at eight years old and now held a black-belt and won competitions in her age-bracket, gender-regardless.

As children, she and Caroline used to learn from each other; Caroline, how to take things on the chin when people hurt her feelings, and hit a baseball, Giulia, how to braid her hair and jump-rope.

They spent the rest of the night talking about the Founders' Party, forcing Giulia to look through _Teen Vogue_, going over plans for the Sexy Suds Carwash and chatting about Giulia's potential date with Noah Grayson. Receiving a text while they ate their way through a pizza, Caroline got quiet and smiley.

"What's the smile for?" Bonnie asked, smiling herself.

"Nothing."

"Caroline, you're an awful sober-liar," Giulia said, giving her best-friend an admonishing look. "And you've had enough vodka to give you a _great_ night's sleep."

"It's just a text…"

"From?"

"…Damon."

"_Damon_?" Giulia raised her eyebrows, her stomach slipping. He was reeling her back in again?

"'_Sorry about the brush-off. Have fun at the Founders' Party; save me a dance, xo Damon_'," Caroline read out. Giulia scoffed, covering it with a cough and sipped her vodka-laced soda. Damon had put an 'xo' in his text? She wondered if he had been _compelled_ to write that text.

"Definitely wearing my 'vixen' dress," Caroline declared, with a self-satisfied smile as she sipped her vodka-and-coke.

* * *

**A.N.**: _**PLEASE REVIEW**_! Later in the story (around season-three/four in TV-time) I am considering bringing in another doppelganger. Not Tatia, or Katherine—I love the idea of a short-haired 'Elena' coming to Mystic Falls after she sees a photo of Elena on the news or something, thinks they're twins… I was even thinking of making a new fic out of it but I am notorious for not finishing stories!


	9. 145 Years Later

**A.N.**: I've fallen in love with Faye's bedroom in _The Secret Circle_. So imagine her room combined with Aria's from _Pretty Little Liars_ with a dash of the Salvatore Boarding House's dark romanticism, you've got Giulia's bedroom!

* * *

**Drunken Binges, Funerals and Formals**

_09_

_145 Years Later_

* * *

"They still wear ties to this thing?" Damon asked, striding into Stefan's hideaway, where his younger-brother sat fiddling with the laces of his dress-shoes, and examined himself in the mirror.

"Why are you even going?" Stefan asked tiredly, sighing.

"Well, it's only fitting—we were at the very first one, remember?" Damon replied, frowning as he held two ties against his bare torso.

"I think it's better we don't draw attention to ourselves," Stefan said solemnly, giving Damon one of his serious, dubious-about-Damon's-motives looks in the mirror.

"So you should stay here," Damon grinned easily. "I'll see to it Elena has a good time…" At Stefan's expression, Damon smirked. "Relax, Giulia's already told people we're her cousins. And who could deny the family-resemblance?" he glanced in the mirror again, taking in his own black hair, pale skin and glowing eyes. "Thank god she got my genes… My goodness, I've driven you to drink." He watched Stefan sipping some scotch.

"I can't seem to rid myself of you," Stefan remarked heavily. "What else am I supposed to do besides go about living my life?"

"Go about living my life," Damon smirked, hiding how pissed off he was that Stefan found it necessary to 'rid himself' of Damon, the fact that he had already made it appear to everyone he'd met that Damon was the big bad older-brother who couldn't be trusted or liked. "See, therein lies your eternal struggle. You're dead, dude. Get over it. What do you think?"

"Avoid that tie, Damon. Like vervain," Giulia's voice sounded in the stairwell, and she shuffled into the bedroom in a ruby-red satin robe, natural pantyhose and a pair of fluffy slippers, bearing several dresses on their hangers. Damon glanced from her to the tie, pulled a face, and chucked it aside.

"It's Stefan's anyway," he murmured, taking in Giulia's appearance.

"I can tell." He chuckled as Stefan shot them a look; Stefan didn't have the best taste.

"Bold choice of party-attire, Giulia," Stefan remarked, eyeing the robe. "Is that what they're wearing on the runways?" Giulia shrugged, blushing slightly.

"What're you doing up here?" Damon asked, frowning at two shirts he had discovered in Stefan's wardrobe; midnight-navy or black. Giulia held up the dresses on hangers, giving him a look, and sighed.

"I don't know what to wear," she said. Damon chuckled. Poor Giulia had grown up with Zach, Mr Jeans-and-Button-down. If she had grown up with her mother, she would have been _immaculate_. As it was, Giulia only dressed herself up to the standards of a Bond movie for Founders' Society events. And she always had to have a few little nudges to boost her confidence in her fashion choices.

"What're the options?" Damon asked. Giulia showed him the dresses; a bead-sewn sleeveless black _Anthropologie_ piece, a strapless tiered-lace mini-dress Damon had given Giulia from _Jenny Packham_ for her Valentine's Day dance last year, a pretty green _Anna Sui_ sundress with intricate details at the neckline, and the last piece, a rich wine-red dress with neatly tucked wrap-over details under the bust, with a low V-neckline and short sleeves, Giulia held up with her eyes alight with delight. Instantly, Damon said, "The red. And wear your hair up."

"Up?"

"Down shows off your eyes," Damon said, drawing Giulia to the mirror, where she stood dubiously examining her reflection; he gathered her silky hair and held it to her head. "Up shows off those cheekbones, that neck. That cleavage. D'you own a push-up bra?"

Giulia sighed heavily, admitting begrudgingly, "_Yes_."

"Put it on."

"Why?"

"You have so much to learn," Damon sighed, shaking his head, as he let go of Giulia's hair and she eyed the red dress with a warm smile; she had obviously wanted to be told she should wear the red dress, because _she_ had already wanted to wear it. "You're going into enemy territory—your ex-boyfriend's house! You need to look fabulous tonight."

"That's what Caroline says," Giulia said, pouting her lips dubiously as she eyed the dress.

"She may talk more than I can listen, but she's right," Damon said. He handed Giulia the other dresses, spun her by the shoulders, and patted her butt to send her toward the door. "Go on, go get pretty."

"How much time do I have?" Giulia asked drily, and Damon chuckled as she dropped downstairs. Retreating to his own room to rifle through the contents of his closet for a decent shirt—he needed to go shopping if he wanted to pick it up a little bit, in search of a new girlfriend—he found Stefan nursing his scotch when he returned to the cluttered attic room.

"Still drinking?"

"Surest way of not causing a scene tonight, I don't want Elena's night to be ruined," Stefan said, sighing. "This party meant a lot to her mother."

"Mm," Damon flicked his eyebrows, holding several shirts up in front of the mirror. "First one was decadent. And if this Lockwood is anything like George and Benjamin… Can't understand why Alice ever liked them. Can't understand why _I_ ever liked them."

"George was your friend," Stefan said.

"George was a smarmy, arrogant dick," Damon sighed. "Guess that still runs in the family, the way this Tyler kid treated my Giulia."

"_Your_ Giulia?" Stefan smirked.

"If you hadn't spent so much of the Nineties listening to grunge-metal in Seattle, you might've had a bigger part in her life," Damon smirked. "We both know I'm her favourite. She even wrote it in her diary—now _that's_ an interesting read. Better than any of yours, even during your Ripper phases."

"You've been reading our great-niece's diary?" Stefan sighed disapprovingly.

Damon shrugged; he absolutely loved reading Giulia's diary. At sixteen she was more intelligent and articulate than many a grown adult he had ever met. Even a few vampires; he'd had a part in her love of antique literature, eloquent writing, but the drawings and little watercolours and photographs she punctuated her writing with were hers alone. Nobody in his family had ever been very artistic, except for his own mother. That was a huge generational gap for inherited traits.

There was something so eloquent and poetic about Giulia's writing, the influence of classical authors evident as much as her own personality coloured her introspection on events happening to her or that she had heard about from others.

"I'd prefer to get to know Giulia through actually talking _to_ Giulia," Stefan remarked judgementally.

"Pretty difficult with your tongue crammed down Elena's throat," Damon sniffed. Stefan glared at him. "What? I'm the nightmare, evil-older-brother, but I'm the one who taught Giulia how to swim, went to her baseball-games, sent postcards and stopped by to make birthday pancake-towers. And you, Mr Fatal Attraction, couldn't stand to be around her longer than to kill her pet bunnies."

"I was protecting her," Stefan sighed.

"Bull," Damon remarked. "You were just too afraid she'd fall and scrape her knee and she'd follow Daffodil and Rumball to the grave."

"It's okay when Giulia gives me a hard time for that, but _you_ don't get to judge me for snacking on her childhood pets," Stefan scowled.

"Sure I do. If you insist on climbing onto that ridiculously high horse over _my_ choice of diet—which, actually, I'm surprised the horse doesn't buck you off given your _hypocrisy_—then _I_ get to constantly remind you that _you_ are the one who terrifies our little niece more than anything in the world," Damon smirked. "Including me. How does it feel, being the hideous monster?"

"You've manipulated Giulia her entire life to make it seem like you're a decent person," Stefan said coolly, and Damon laughed.

"Are you kidding me? Five years old, she'd found your journals," he grinned. "I had to have the pleasure of explaining who the Ripper was and what he did to his victims. Giulia's probably the only human alive who can appreciate a vampire's nature and not judge him for it. Whereas you'd have her believe all vampires snack on bunnies and are inherently pacifist and aren't biologically wired to hurt people."

"I suppose it is best for her she's not afraid of you," Stefan remarked coolly.

"Sure it is. She could have a bit of an Ellen Ripley thing going on," Damon grinned. "I never manipulated Giulia; but I coached her so she'd never be as afraid of us as Zach and Joseph were."

"Zach has every right to be afraid of your visits, Damon," Stefan said seriously. "Every time you appear in Mystic Falls, people die—"

"A given. I'm a vampire. We need human blood to survive, ergo…people need to die for our sustenance," Damon shrugged.

"_Your_ sustenance, Damon—and what if one day it's Giulia?" Stefan said, as if Damon hadn't interrupted.

"Your speculations are irrelevant," Damon said, waving a hand idly as he adjusted the collar of his black silk shirt. "Unlike you, my delusional little-brother, _I_ control my lust for blood, instead of the blood controlling me. I snack when I want and on who I want, and I can do it without leaving a trail of dismembered bodies. So I could play in the garden with Giulia, and teach her how to ride her bike, take her to the toy-store, and take her to get her ears pierced without wanting to rip her throat out when I saw the blood from her piercings."

"Well, you're worthy of vampire sainthood any day now," Stefan said drily.

"Whereas you'll be condemned to martyrdom," Damon sniffed, eyeing his reflection. He heard heels clicking softly, and spied dark hair, incredibly pale, glowing skin and a flash of red in the mirror and turned.

"Oh _wow_! Look at you!" he grinned. "This is the first time I've ever felt honoured to be related to a human!"

Giulia had put on the wine-red dress. She didn't so much wear it as _own_ it; the rich colour was incredibly flattering, and striking, with her pale skin, vividly contrastingly black hair, and she had done something with her eyes to make them appear bigger, brighter and more beautiful than ever. _Makeup_. She knew how to wear it beautifully. The dress fit her figure snugly, the deep V of the neckline showing off her beautiful cleavage and the slender column of her pale throat; the hem brushed just above her knees, a subtle frilled seam gathering up to the left side of the waist where the dress wrapped under her bust. A pair of plain black leather red-soled heels gave her even more height, and her shining dark curls had been gently teased up into a soft bun.

"Thank you," Giulia blushed, with an ironic little smile. He noticed she wore a little blush to define her cheekbones, and a shimmering lipstick that complemented her skin, but she appeared fresh-faced. She was stunning.

"You're welcome. For a tomboy you sure know how to get dolled up," Damon grinned lazily.

"I had lessons," Giulia blushed again.

"You look beautiful, Giulia," Stefan said, smiling over at her as he went through a box containing watches and cufflinks.

"No jewellery?" Damon asked, eyeing Giulia. She didn't need to take away any attention from herself in that dress, showing off her incredibly long, shapely legs, but the only jewellery she wore was the subtle gold anklet around her left ankle, a gift from Damon years ago that contained vervain.

"My mother's watch," Giulia said, holding up the piece she had been holding.

"Oh, the diamond _Dior_ one," Damon nodded approvingly. A plain black satin strap held a small round watch-face of mother-of-pearl, surrounded by a frame of diamonds that shone brilliantly. "Nice. Very elegant. You're not gonna wear anything else?"

"I'm already wearing a push-up bra and diamonds," Giulia said, a little glumly, as she put the watch on.

"And you're wearing _Louboutin_ heels. My girl's got taste! _Louboutin_, _Hermés_ and _Van Cleef & Arpels_," Damon nodded. "An exquisite combination. Your mother loved them too."

"I know," Giulia said, with a warm smile that made her eyes glow.

"Hey, hey, we went through all that drama getting your ears pierced, you're not gonna wear earrings?" Damon said, as Giulia made to retreat now that she had shown them the dress on for double confirmation.

"Damon…has anybody told you you're a bit of a girl?" Giulia asked curiously. Damon frowned thoughtfully.

"Not ever."

"Oh." Giulia nodded.

"We're really gonna have to get you some more jewellery," Damon sighed, eyeing Giulia.

"I don't need any more," she said, neatly-groomed eyebrows raised.

"Giulia… I've come to realise that when it comes to _women_ there is no such thing as too many handbags, too many pairs of shoes, or too much jewellery," Damon smirked. "Hey, wanna take a road-trip? New York? We can see a show, I'll take you shopping."

"On Daddy's credit-card."

"Credit-card?! Hello, why pay when you can compel?" Damon scoffed, and Giulia smiled warmly. "Speaking of…" He reached into his pocket, withdrawing a small pink box embossed with a silver monogram.

"What's this?" Giulia asked.

"Just a little something I picked up in London," Damon shrugged.

"Sophie Harley…" Giulia read out, then gazed at him with warm, delighted, slightly wondrous eyes.

"Isn't she the jeweller who created pieces for _Casino Royale_?" Stefan frowned.

"Vesper Lynd," Damon sighed. "_Mm_…"

"They're beautiful," Giulia said, when she had opened the little box. Inside, Damon had chosen the smaller pair of love-knot stud earrings offered by the jeweller.

"The Algerian love-knot," Damon smiled, with a subtle wink. "I figure, I already gave you those hoop earrings with the winged hearts for special-occasions; these are for everyday-wear."

"Thank you, Damon," Giulia beamed, setting the box down carefully on Stefan's table before she put the earrings in.

"Well, you are very welcome, Giulia," Damon said. When she had put the second earring in, she put the lid on the box and came to give him a warm hug. He could smell her perfume, something she never wore unless it was a special occasion; she smelled lovely. When he released her, he said, "What do you think of this shirt?"

"It's a black shirt," Giulia said, smiling. "Your go-to colour."

"True," Damon said, examining his reflection again. "It's cool not growing old. I like being the eternal stud."

"Yes, being a one-hundred-and-fifty year-old teenager has been the height of my happiness," Stefan spoke up, sipping his scotch.

"It's your own fault," Giulia said, glancing over her shoulder, and Damon grinned.

"See, that, right there, _that_ is why you always fine jewellery when I'm home," he said, cupping Giulia's beautiful face in his hands lovingly. "Or maybe a drink. Let's celebrate." He strode over to the tray on which Stefan kept his array of decanters. The sunlight reflected off something metallic on Stefan's desk, and he sighed as he noticed the antique photograph. "Eighteen-sixty-four… You and Katherine were the perfect couple. It was _hell_ watching you dance with her." He poured a glass for Giulia, handing it off to her while he gazed at the photograph.

"My happiness was short-lived, as you well know," Stefan said calmly.

"I remember. I left the party early, I was waiting for her. The night you dropped her off, I was waiting just inside," Damon said, grinning. You were such a gentleman, gave her a kiss on the cheek, when what she really wanted was…" He didn't mention that Katherine had compelled him to leave her room that night, flustered over Stefan's goodnight-kiss. "Oh well. Here's to history repeating itself, huh…"

History repeating. Elena was nothing like Katherine; but she was Katherine's likeness incarnate and her physical resemblance to the seductive vampire he had loved for a hundred and forty-five years was too much to ignore. He couldn't stay away from Elena, because she was the physical twin to the woman he missed with all of his being. He raised the tumbler of scotch to his lips, depression and prickles of hope churning in his stomach, but caught the scent of vervain and he tipped the tumbler over, scotch pouring onto the rug. The tumbler followed, bouncing but not shattering.

"What're you doing?" Giulia blurted, eyes wide. She hadn't been in on it. Her reaction was too visceral; and she'd never have allowed Stefan to poison him.

"I admire your efforts, Stefan," Damon sighed. "Pouring yourself a drink then spiking the bottle with vervain. I'm not some drunk sorority chick, you can't roofie me. I can't help but feel a little used." He straightened up his shirt and jacket, making sure his cufflinks were in place. "I thought we were having a moment… I have to go to the party angry. Who knows what I'll do." He strode out of the room, but could hear Giulia's voice as he made his way downstairs, "_There was no call for that_."

"_Giulia_…"

"_Why can't you just leave him alone? Haven't you done enough_?"

His long un-dead heart squeezed for Giulia, his best-friend, his faithful companion throughout her incredibly short but wonderful life. The one person, alive or un-dead, he truly cared about, and allowed himself to feel, both while he was around her, and for her. He helped himself to an untainted scotch from his own bedroom and heard Giulia's heels downstairs.

"You ready to go?" he asked, as Giulia tucked a lipstick into a small black clutch purse. The earrings glinted, revealed by her hair being up, and the diamonds of her mother's watch sparkled vividly in the sunlight pouring through the open front-door.

"Yes, I have everything," Giulia smiled shyly.

"Where's your dad? He doesn't usually let you leave without a photo," Damon said.

"Daddy said he's coming tonight," Giulia beamed happily. "He's bringing a camera."

"Huh," Damon said thoughtfully. "Zach the hermit's coming out into society."

"Daddy says Founders' events are just expensive excuses for the Council to gather in back rooms and plot the destruction of the vampire species," Giulia sighed.

"Pretty big goal for a small-town secret society," Damon smirked.

"Well, I wouldn't brush them off," Giulia said, "their methods worked once before." Damon pulled a face; that was certainly true, to an extent. The poorly-educated elders of Mystic Falls had successfully rounded up every vampire in Mystic Falls in 1864, heavily aided by a witch who did everything she could to help the humans defend themselves against the abominations. Loyal to Katherine due to a blood-debt, Emily Bennett couldn't ignore her inherent role as protector of the balance…protector of humans.

Damon had his own blood-debt to consider. For a hundred and forty-five years he had returned to Mystic Falls periodically not just to check up on his own family line…but to check on Emily's.

Giulia being friends with the latest little Bennett witch helped him, let him know how Bonnie was doing. Protect Emily's family-line…to protect _her_.

Cars were backed up for two blocks, people walking up the long lawn to the Lockwood house; thoroughly inappropriate when women's heels were taken into consideration, which, apparently, they hadn't upon planning access to the event. Giulia grumbled about the impracticality of wearing heels, but he chuckled, said, "You wear them all the time for your ballroom-dancing."

"I wear them during rehearsals and at events, but I take flats with me," Giulia said. "And my ballroom heels are specially designed for dancing."

"I've seen those stilettos you wear for Latin ballroom, there is nothing about them that suggests they were specially designed for anything but being worn with sexy lingerie," Damon remarked, and Giulia flushed as she shot him a reproving look. He chuckled, and she smiled.

"They're just more comfortable…they have straps," Giulia murmured, glancing down at her feet, encased in buttery-soft black leather. They weren't too high, didn't have the platforms adored by celebrities and socialites today; they were an elegant pair of heels that she could wear with anything.

"Well, I promise, if you trip and wipe out, I won't wound your pride further by claiming you've had too much to drink," Damon smirked, and Giulia beamed. "God knows you've got as hollow a leg as I do." Giulia smiled, taking his proffered arm, and they walked up to the Lockwood family's new mansion. Redbrick and white columns, Damon preferred their old place better. People swarmed to the front steps like ants in brightly-coloured dresses and suits, Giulia murmured their names as she and Damon passed them on the way to the front-door, and noted whether they were in the Council or what their profession was. For a quiet girl, she knew everyone.

Damon watched her as she interacted with people besides those she was on best-friend terms with. She was quiet but well-spoken and very polite, everyone she spoke to smiled at her, spoke respectfully toward her, and Giulia knew titbits about them, their families, their children in college or kindergarten, health-issues of relatives in the hospital. Things vampires never talked about.

It was rare for vampires to have true family. No births, deaths instant, not lingering and drawn-out. He and Stefan had spent their eternity estranged.

But Giulia introduced him as her cousin; and they looked so alike nobody questioned it. They had made up that Damon and Stefan's parents had been military, they had moved around a lot; a car-accident had killed them, and Damon had finished college in Boston a few years ago. Giulia said this with an ironic little smile; she knew he loved uptight, pretty girls who buttoned themselves up, the ones who secretly craved danger and seduction. He believed no girls encompassed that description better than the entitled queen WASPs of the Ivy League. Damon loved college-campuses, and he had once gone to Harvard University. Back in the 1860s, of course. Before he had become a Confederate soldier, before he had married Alice. Before Katherine.

Damon's stomach seized painfully. She had chosen _Stefan_ as her escort to the first Founders' Party, one hundred and forty-five years ago.

As they approached the Lockwood porch, where the esteemed Mayor Douche Lockwood and his uptight wife were greeting their guests, he caught a shimmer of coppery-fuchsia and a mane of shining chestnut hair, and heard Elena, chatting happily to Stefan.

"You're doing it again," Giulia said softly, smiling warmly at him.

"Doing what?"

"_Pining_," Giulia said, and Damon quirked an eyebrow at her.

"I am not _pining_."

"You are. You have been for a hundred and forty-five years," Giulia said softly. "It's no wonder Heathcliff went mad in the end. You should take a leaf out of his book. Since you were around when it was first published."

"Now, now, cousin," Damon smirked. "Just be aware that I can tell all of your friends extremely embarrassing stories about your childhood."

"You wouldn't."

"Wouldn't I?" Damon gazed back at Giulia as she stared at him. Giulia's heartbeat betrayed nothing; she had learned how to keep her heartbeats measured in the face of a vampire, who could sense deceit in the stutters of a heartbeat. They stared at each other, waiting for the line to move up.

"We should play poker sometime," Giulia said, flashing a grin so suddenly Damon almost jumped. Giulia was a girl of subtlety, introspection and moments, usually coaxed and instigated by him, of joyous, overtly daring behaviour. Usually those moments included tequila, raves and leather pants, and they were memories Damon held on to.

"Yeah we should," he grinned easily. Seizing on an idea, Damon smiled. "You have dinner-nights with Zach still, right?"

"Every week," Giulia smiled warmly.

"How about you and I have a date-night," Damon grinned. Giulia chuckled.

"You want to paint the town?" she smiled. Damon shrugged. "Damon, this is Mystic Falls. You hate it here, there's nothing to do."

"Ah, but with my compulsion and your legs and that cleavage, the world is our oyster," Damon said, and Giulia laughed. "We could turn Mystic Falls into our own personal playground." Giulia rolled her eyes, smiling so her intense cheekbones became more beautifully pronounced.

"What would we do?"

"Mm, I don't know. Kamikaze karaoke competitions," Damon smirked, and Giulia laughed at the reminder of their lethally-embarrassing karaoke choices. "Movies. We could play quarters at the Grill over a bottle of scotch. I can teach you how to play darts."

"I know how to play darts."

"Oh. I forgot I taught you how," Damon nodded. He canted his head to one side thoughtfully. "How about pool?" Giulia gave him a look, and Damon grinned. "Right." Giulia loved to beat boys at pool. If she hadn't been the Salvatore heiress, Giulia would have made a wonderful hustler. Her smarts, her legs, her ability to whip anybody at pool and word-games, yes, Damon was proud of his little heiress.

Hey reached the Mayor and his wife, and Damon put on his best smile as the wife leaned in to kiss Giulia's cheek, a large-toothed smile flashing in the sunshine like her strings of fat pearls.

"Giulia, you look absolutely beautiful!" Mrs Lockwood beamed, taking in Giulia's neckline, the toned length of her legs, the polished leather of her heels, her relaxed, swept-up hairstyle, the jewellery glinting at her ears and sparkling at her wrist.

"Thank you, Mrs Lockwood," Giulia smiled warmly, a little blush creeping into her cheeks. "This is my cousin Damon I told you about. He helped me find some of the pieces in our family's part of the display. Damon, this is Mayor Lockwood and his wife Carol."

"It's a pleasure to meet you both," Damon said, smiling as he offered his hand, first to Mrs Lockwood, gently kissing the back of her hand, and then, while his wife was blushing from the flattering gesture, Damon shook the Mayor's hand. "I've been looking forward to this party for quite some time."

"Well, come on in," Mayor Lockwood said, and Damon smiled gloatingly as the Mayor indicated his front-door. "The bar's open. Giulia, you'll save me a dance later?"

"Of course," Giulia smiled, and Damon led them over the threshold.

"Would you like a drink?" Damon asked, winking subtly, and a beautiful smile revealed Giulia's sparkling white teeth.

"No tequila shooters," she said, with an ironic little remonstrative quirk of an eyebrow.

"Of course not. This is a classy shindig," Damon sniffed, smirking, as he guided Giulia to the bar. She smiled at people and said hello to those she knew, but didn't stop to chat; at the bar, Damon swept up two flutes of champagne.

"How does it compare?" Giulia asked quietly, holding up her champagne flute carefully, her pale eyes on the tiny bubbles.

"To?"

"Eighteen sixty-four," Giulia murmured, sipping her drink delicately, her pale eyes on Damon. He took in his surroundings, his lips twitching, even as his stomach dipped. The last time he had attended a Founders' Party, he had been…human.

"The Mayor inherited the same sense of grandeur as his ancestor Benjamin Lockwood," Damon said quietly, "although that 'sense' and its execution don't quite seem to match. I've learned that in the South we have a very different way of doing things compared to the North—and to the rest of the developed world."

"Oh dear," Giulia smiled. "You're going to get me started, aren't you?"

"On what, pray tell?"

"Southern tradition," Giulia said, an earnest smile tugging at the corners of her beautiful lips, her eyes warm and amused.

"What would you tell me about Southern traditions?" Damon chuckled.

"Well, for example, the fact that the Lockwood family tend to ignore that they were the biggest slave-owning family in Mystic Falls," Giulia murmured, and Damon's lips twitched. For all his travels, he had imprinted his sense of worldliness onto Giulia, so she didn't grow up with the same kinds of prejudices her great-grandparents, even her grandparents, had grown up with.

Living in Virginia, even her grandparents had endured the prejudices of their time, and Damon knew that the way things had been in Virginia in 1864 and especially in _19_64 had been unique cultural experiences compared to the rest of the world. Giulia, a liberal intellectual if ever there was one, would be the one to raise awareness of the seedy underside of the lauded Founding Families. Damon's grandmother had been French, his grandfather full-blooded Italian; they abhorred the ideals of Southern white supremacy, and especially the slave-trade.

_Too cultured for that barbarism_, Damon thought, remembering the words of his grandfather when he was a boy. Of course, his grandfather had spoken Italian, which Damon had passed on to Giulia.

"Anything else you would condemn the Founding Families for?" Damon asked.

"Their theft of the land of the vampires they burned," Giulia said softly, smiling as she accepted a canapé from a passing waitress. "The Lockwood estate is comprised of parcels of land they took possession of after the Fell's Church fire. But you know that already." She blushed, then sipped her drink.

"Yes, I do. I tried to stop it," Damon said.

"You did very well," Giulia smiled; besides the Lockwood family, the Salvatore estate was the largest in the county, and the legacy Giulia would inherit included fortunes amassed from lumber and construction, beef and oil companies, and the possession of the buildings the Salvatore family had put up all over town. They had _built_ Mystic Falls; if the Lockwood family owned land, the Salvatore family owned property. Damon had made sure his living descendents would always be comfortable, by purchasing up as much of the vampires' land as he could and taking business opportunities when the town had needed timber and construction companies to put up new buildings for the expanding population. Forget World War Two; Mystic Falls had seen its first 'Baby Boom' in 1865. When the vampires had burned, and all were safe again.

"You know, it was the Salvatore family who sponsored all the desegregation in town," Damon said, sipping his own champagne. "Earlier, we were instrumental in the Underground Railroad." Giulia smiled.

"That, I know," she said softly. "I did a paper on it last year for History. I explored all the old tunnels and caves."

"Did you know that the history of Mystic Falls goes back a hundred years before the Founders even settled on this land?" Damon asked.

"Really?"

"Migrants from Salem fled in the 1690s," Damon nodded.

"Salem. Massachusetts?" Giulia said, gazing at him, and Damon nodded. Her eyes turned thoughtful, almost shrewd. "Emily Bennett was descended from Salem witches."

"Yep," Damon nodded, sipping his champagne.

"So she was here, in Mystic Falls, long before the 1860s," Giulia mused. "At least, her family was. So of all of us…Bonnie has the most claim to being a Founder."

"Bonnie?"

"Bonnie Bennett," Giulia said, giving Damon a look.

"Wait—your little friend is a Bennett?"

* * *

**A.N.**: I know it's going to take _ages_ to get to the Masquerade, which means the arrival of _Elijah_, but I've already got some things figured out for the plot afterward, how Giulia affects things… I'm compensating for my guilt over not working on my dissertation by updating FF. Please review.


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